Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the Central Government should extend all help to the state since the loss of rabi crop due to the drought conditions in the state.
Speaking with mediapersons after attending a function to celebrate Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birth anniversary at Vidhana Soudha, the chief minister said the farmers were able to harvest rabi crop last year but it seems the chances of harvesting rabi crop seem to be remote since 139 taluks are reeling under severe drought. “The farmers in the state have incurred a huge loss due to floods and also drought. As per the guidelines of National Disaster Relief Fund, we have sought Rs 4656 crore as drought relief and Rs 380 crore as flood relief from the Central Government. Recently, a Central team visited drought-hit areas in the state. There is a severe drought condition in the state. I want the Central Government to release the funds immediately. We will submit one more memorandum to the Central Government shortly,’’ the chief minister said.
On demonetization
Expressing concern over the citizens facing problems due to the demonetization, the chief minister opined that Centre would have made arrangements before announcing the demonetization of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 currency notes. “People are facing lot of problems to withdraw cash from banks due to the lack of adequate arrangements and preparations. I want to convene a meeting with government officials and bank managers to discuss on how to help the public. I am not opposing the Central Government’s decision. I have already welcomed it but the public are suffering due to the failure in making proper arrangements,’’ he said.
