The State government has decided to forfeit the bank guarantee of Rs 9.69 crore provided by joint venture company Regional Airport Holdings International (RAHI) for its failure to complete construction of the Gulbarga airport and operate it as agreed upon.
Information Minister R. Roshan Baig, who also holds Infrastructure Development portfolio, in a written reply to an unstarred question by Congress MLC Allamprabhu Patil in the Legislative Council, said the decision was taken in a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary on June 6 in Bangalore.
The meeting also decided to work on alternative ways to complete the airport project at the earliest, he said. The work on the airport ran into trouble owing to differences between the joint venture partners about investment, and several interventions by the government to narrow down the differences and get the work resumed failed, the Minister said.
Spurt in rape cases
To another unstarred question by Mr. Patil, Home Minister K.J. George said that there had been a spurt in rape cases in Yadgir district this year when compared to the whole of last year. Mr. George said that against 13 cases of rape reported in Yadgir district in 2013, 22 cases were reported till June 15 this year. In Gulbarga district, against 54 cases of rape reported in 2013, 19 cases were reported till June 15 this year. The Home Minister said that 155 cases of crime against women were reported in Gulbarga till June 15 this year. As many as 430 such cases were reported in 2013 in the district. Similarly, in Yadgir district, 143 cases of crime against women were reported till June 15 this year against 298 cases in 2013.
He said the government had initiated measures to sensitise police personnel on crimes against women and also increase the presence of women police constables in public places such as bus-stands and railway stations.
