Staff Correspondent
District administration in Haveri has failed to respond, says the Congress leader
Midday meal centres have been converted
into gruel centres
‘Not a single official has visited the flood-affected areas’
HAVERI: Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council H.K. Patil has alleged that the district administration in Haveri has failed to handle floods and the apathy of the officials had caused hardship to displaced people.
The former Minister was speaking to presspersons at Ranebennur on Saturday after visiting the flood-hit villages in Hirekerur, Haveri, Hangal and Ranebennur taluk of Haveri district.
Several Congress leaders, including I.G. Sanadi, A.M. Hindasageri, Salim Ahmed, and Shivanna accompanied him during the visit.
H.K. Patil alleged that the officials of the district administration had not visited the affected villages.
This had hampered relief measures. He said although the officials had been saying that gruel centres had been set up, the truth was that they had only converted the midday meal centres as gruel centres.
While care should have been taken in providing medical services and maintaining hygiene in flood-affected villages, the officials were least bothered about it.
They had failed to provide even potable water to the displaced people, he alleged.
The former Minister alleged that neither the Deputy Commissioner nor the Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat had visited the villages.
Udasi criticised
He said Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and district in-charge minister C.M. Udasi had lost his moral right to continue in the post after he expressed his “ignorance” about the flood situation in the district.
Mr. Patil said the statement of the Minister was shocking.
Mr. Patil pointed out that in spite of the State reeling under floods, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who heads the Disaster Management Committee, had not convened a meeting.
He said by convening an emergency meeting, the Chief Minister should come out with a special package for flood-affected districts.
On Mr. Kumaraswamy’s refusal to take action against two Ministers based on the recommendation of the Lokayukta, Mr. Patil termed it as against law.
To a question, he clarified that the Congress was not against special economic zones (SEZ) but was against selling farmers’ lands to multinational companies on the pretext of development.