Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s Grama Vastavya, a village-stay programme, scheduled for Saturday at Herur (B) village in Afzalpur taluk of Kalaburagi district, was cancelled due to heavy rain. The Chief Minister had begun the second edition of the programme at Chandraki village in Gurmitkal taluk in the neighbouring Yadgir district on Friday. He was scheduled to arrive in Herur (B) village by 10 a.m. to stay at the village after having Janata Darshan, interaction with people and other programmes.
“Chief Minister’s Janata Darshan and Grama Vastavya programmes scheduled to be held at Herur (B) village have been postponed due to heavy rain. The Chief Minister would decide the next date and intimate us,” Social Welfare Minister and Kalaburagi in-charge Priyank Kharge announced in a midnight intimation.
The entire Herur (B) village, situated on the bank of the Bhima, got flooded in the heavy rain that lashed throughout the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. It has left the low-lying areas in the village and its vicinity, including the place designated for the Chief Minister’s interaction with people, waterlogged. It has also damaged the road being constructed for the Chief Minister’s travel to reach the village.
As per sources in the district administration, Mr. Kumaraswamy will reach Hyderabad by road and take a flight for Bengaluru on Friday.
“Herur (B) village is on the bank of Bhima River and is a low-lying area. If it was ordinary rain, there wouldn’t be any problem. But, it was a heavy downpour and the entire area got flooded within 30 minutes. The rain continued to lash throughout the night. So, we decided to postpone the programme,” R. Venkatesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburagi, told The Hindu , on Saturday morning.
Speaking to media representatives at Chandraki village later, Mr. Kumaraswamy said that the Herur (B) Grama Vastavya would be rescheduled for a day in the first or second week of July, taking into account the Assembly session schedule.
“On the one hand, I felt sorry for my Herur (B) Grama Vastavya being cancelled due to heavy downpour. On the other hand, I feel happy that the area received good rainfall and farmers can take up farm activities. My Grama Vastavya programme in Kalaburagi district would be rescheduled, probably to July first or second week, after seeing the Assembly session dates,” he said. He also felt happy for the successful conduct of Grama Vastavya in Chandraki village in Yadgir district.
