Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with his deputy D K Shivakumar and a contingent of ministers and legislators, convened a dharna on Sunday, decrying what they perceive as unfair treatment by the central government in disbursing drought relief funds to the state.
Gripping the ‘Chombu’, a traditional water pot symbolizing scarcity and deceit, the leaders accused the Centre of betraying Karnataka by failing to provide sufficient aid to combat the severe drought, unprecedented in decades.
They staged the symbolic protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the grounds of the “Vidhana Soudha,” the seat of the Legislature and Secretariat.
The state government has identified 226 out of 236 Taluks in Karnataka as drought-stricken, with crop losses recorded on 48 lakh hectares of land.
Siddaramaiah revealed that despite the state’s plea for Rs 18,171 crore in drought relief, the central government sanctioned only Rs 3,454 crore, and that too after Karnataka approached the Supreme Court.
This allocation, he emphasized, falls far short of the state’s requirements, constituting less than a quarter of the demanded sum.
