BENGALURU: Hyderabad-Karnataka Region Development Board chairman and Minister for Municipal Administration Qamarul Islam on Thursday expressed unhappiness over Raichur’s claim for Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) being overlooked by the union government.
“The people of Hyderabad-Karnataka are unhappy with the Centre for rejecting their demand to set up an IIT at Raichur. I am also equally pained. Not that we are opposed to the institute coming up at Dharwad, but the Centre should have considered our claim as setting up of the IIT would have helped in the development of the region,” he told reporters.
He also took strong objection to the Centre not including any of the cities of the H-K region under the Smart City project and termed the guidelines framed by the Union Urban Development Ministry for selection of cities as unscientific.
“It is an injustice to the region. We welcome competition for the selection. But competition should be among equals. How can the ministry expect backward Kalaburagi to compete with the developed cities?” he asked.
He also demanded that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah develop Kalaburagi as a smart city from the state’s funds.
The minister said the board has decided to give `50 lakh to the chief minister’s relief fund for supply of drinking water in 135 drought-hit taluks.
This apart, `3.5 crore, which was earmarked for conducting a cultural and industrial mela at Kalaburagi, would also be spent on providing drinking water in all the districts under the H-K region, he added. The mela was supposed to be held in October, but was cancelled owing to the drought in most parts of the H-K region.
To a question, he said the municipal administration department had released `48.1 crore to all deputy commissioners since May to be used for supply of drinking water in affected towns and cities.
Raichur Bandh: The district bandh called on Thursday in response to Raichur missing out on the state’s first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) was total and largely peaceful. All colleges remained shut as youths took to the streets shouting slogans against the government.