Deputy Chief Minister takes officials to task

MLAs complain that illegal sand extraction and gambling are going on unhindered in Raichur district

January 26, 2021 01:22 am | Updated 01:22 am IST - YADGIR

Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi chairing the quarterly KDP meeting in Raichur on Monday.

Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi chairing the quarterly KDP meeting in Raichur on Monday.

Expressing serious displeasure over unhindered illegal sand extraction and gambling activities in Raichur district, Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi has warned that he would recommend to the State government to take action against Raichur Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police if they failed to stop them.

Chairing the quarterly Karnataka Development Programme meeting in Raichur on Monday, Mr. Savadi took the officers to task when MLAs D.S. Hulageri and Basanagowda Daddal complained that illegal sand extraction was rampant in the district. They also said that matka (gambling) has been going on without hindrance in Lingsugur taluk and the officers concerned have failed to prevent such activities to keep society safe.

Responding to them, Mr. Savadi, who is also district in-charge, said that “one year has already passed after I took charge of the district and I have been suggesting to officers to prevent all illegal activities. Despite repeated instructions, you are not taking it seriously and it seems that you are misusing my leniency. Now onwards, I will not excuse you. When officers fail to discharge their duties efficiently, the Deputy Commissioner, the Chief Executive Officer and the Superintendent of Police will be held accountable.”

Continuing to question the officers, he, at one point, warned that “I would recommend to the State government to take action against the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police if such illegal activities are not stopped immediately.” He then directed Deputy Commissioner R. Venkatesh Kumar to take initiatives to suspend Senior Scientist of Mines and Geology Department Vishwanath.

The Deputy Chief Minister sharply asked the RTO “why did you not intercept trucks carrying sand illegally? You will have to face action in future if you do not work diligently.”

Sanganna Karadi, MP, Shivaraj Patil, Venkatarao Nadagouda, Shivanagowda Naik, MLAs, Adimani Veeralakshmi, president of Zilla Panchayat, and district-level officers were present.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.