Owing to pressure by the Opposition parties and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader B.S. Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda on Thursday cancelled his foreign tour for a road show as a prelude to the two-day global investors meet to be held here commencing from June 7.
Speaking to reporters at his home office, “Krishna” here, the Chief Minister said that he wanted to focus more on the sufferings of the people in the drought-affected districts.
He announced that the government would sanction another Rs. 30 lakh to each of the drought-affected Assembly constituencies to provide drinking water and fodder.
The government had released an equal amount to the constituencies in the drought-hit districts.
Mr. Sadananda Gowda, who originally proposed to visit Japan and Singapore commencing Sunday and meet investors in the United States at a later date, said his first priority was to continue his visit to the districts where drought was severe as compared to last month.
He said that Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani would visit these countries, but the sources in the department of Large and Medium Industries were of the view that Mr. Nirani also may not go abroad alone.
Meanwhile, Ministers Jagadish Shettar, S. Suresh Kumar and Basavaraj Bommai, heading teams visiting drought districts, would continue their study tours. All the three were submitting reports to the Chief Minister who was likely to release more funds for relief work.
Mr. Sadananda Gowda said that more fodder banks would be opened for distributing fodder to cattle to stop distress sale of cattle to slaughterhouses. He said that the government would direct the district administration and the Department of Minor Irrigation to take up work to remove silt from tanks.
The Chief Minister reiterated that the direction to all government servants, especially senior officers, not to go on leave till the drought situation returns to normality, stands. He directed them to take steps for providing assistance to those involved in relief work to reduce the sufferings of the people, especially clean drinking water and fodder to cattle.
