BENGALURU : At a time when the Congress government is mired in controversies over alleged irregularities in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday interacted with party workers to redress their grievances.
Over 600 grievances, ranging from Congress workers finding it tough to get their work done in government offices to being unable to get the benefits of various schemes, poured in.
A similar outreach programme was held on July 6, in which DyCM and KPCC president DK Shivakumar interacted with party workers. Siddaramaiah, however, missed the event as he had to attend a meeting of senior IPS officers. On Saturday, Shivakumar did not attend the CM’s outreach programme as he was in Mumbai to attend a private event.
Several Congress workers also demanded that they be made members of various boards and corporations. “Appointments of chairpersons to most boards and corporations are done. There are some vacancies in 10-15 boards, and the appointments will be made by me and Shivakumar. Congress workers have already been appointed to district and taluk-level guarantee implementation committees. They will be considered while appointing directors to a few boards,” Siddaramaiah said. He also called the Dharwad deputy commissioner over phone and instructed him to protect the interests of street vendors following a complaint by Ismail, a Congress worker from Dharwad. Similar complaints came from Congress workers in Chikkabalapur and Sidlaghatta.
He also spoke to the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation MD and instructed him to grant houses to five women cleaning staff attached to the KPCC office.
Responding to a request by Chandpasha of Ramasamudra of Yadgir district, he promised to grant him a house through the Zilla Panchayat CEO concerned and aid from the CM’s Relief Fund.
Shivananda, a Congress worker, complained that except for an assurance letter from the CM Relief Fund, he could not get Rs 60,000 to undergo a surgery. The CM assured him that he would receive the grant through his officer, Ramaiah, with immediate effect.
Siddaramaiah, on a priority, went to specially-abled persons and addressed their grievances. He promised them that he will take steps to provide them with four-wheelers and jobs.
Faiz P Ahmed, a political science graduate who is specially abled, claimed that he had worked in the Congress war room in the recent Lok Sabha elections and needed help now. Siddaramaiah suggested that he register under the ‘Yuvanidhi’ scheme to receive Rs 3,000 per month for two years, besides training to improve his skills. A few women workers hailed Siddaramaiah as a “godly figure” for implementing the guarantee schemes. They insisted that Siddaramaiah expedite the process of granting houses to the needy so that he could be called ‘Vasathi Ramaiah’.
The CM addressed over 200 grievances on the spot.
NDDB software not in Kannada
Karnataka State Milk Producers’ Cooperative Societies’ Workers Federation president S Shivanagappa brought to the CM’s notice that the Automatic Milk Collection System (AMCS) software of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) was available only in English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati. “It will become a problem for workers if it is not in Kannada,” he said. Siddaramaiah dialed the KMF MD and instructed him to take steps to ensure that it is available in Kannada too.