Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy would be visiting villages to understand the reasons for farm suicides, said Minister for Public Works H.D. Revanna, here on Monday.

Even after waiving loans, suicides of farmers had not stopped. The government had announced waiver to the tune of ₹ 40,000 crore. “It is necessary to understand the problems faced by farmers. The Chief Minister will be discussing the issue with farmers during his stay in the villages. He will interact with them throughout the day and stay in government schools”, Mr. Revanna said.

Shiradi Ghat

Regarding the repair of Shiradi Ghat-stretch of Bengaluru-Mangaluru highway (NH 75), the Minister said the State government would extend all possible cooperation to the National Highway Authority of India.

A meeting was held with the representatives of the NHAI in this regard.

The NHAI had also approved the task of widening for bypass of NH 75 at Channarayapatna and Hassan at a cost of ₹ 800 crore.

Criticises Tumakuru MP

Stating that former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda had never done petty politics over river water, Mr. Revanna commented that Tumakuru Lok Sabha member G.S. Basavaraju was “unfit to be an MP.”

He told presspersons that BJP leaders made false allegations against Mr. Deve Gowda over sharing of Hemavati river water.

“I am ready to share details of water taken to Tumakuru from Hassan. Now Basavaraju is an MP. I will get him the keys of the crest gates. We need water for about 10,000 ha from the Left Bank canal. Let him take the rest”, he said.

He wanted to know the contribution of BJP leaders for providing water for Tumakuru people. “Who was the Minister for Water Resources during the JD(S)-BJP rule? Let me know how much water was taken to Tumakuru during the BJP’s five-year rule. During the Congress regime, water reached up to the 60 km point. But the BJP government did not give attention even to clear the silt”, he said.

“Mr. Deve Gowda had never indulged in petty politics in his career. If he had done petty politics, he would not have remained in politics for over six decades,” Mr. Revanna said. Further, he said he was ready to take the BJP MP along the canal route to know the actual situation.

Directive on accidents

Separately, at a meeting with district officials, Mr. Revanna, who is also in-charge of Hassan district, directed them to ensure that all government-run ambulances take patients first to government hospitals.

“We have a medical college in Hassan and all facilities are available. There is no need to take patients to private hospitals. If any ambulance driver violates it, he will not get paid for his service, besides attracting criminal case”, he said.

Only if necessary, the patients could be referred to super-speciality hospital run by the government in Bengaluru.

Recently, a boy in Sigaranahalli in Holenarsipur taluk met with an accident and he was admitted to a private hospital.

Expenses

“The expenses went beyond ₹ 2.5 lakh. His parents with no source to pay the expenses, were forced to sell off their land. I don't want to see such incidents any more in the districts”, he said.