Urban News

The Hindu - Karnataka 12.08.2009

Rs. 10 crore set aside for road development

Staff Correspondent

Raichur: The Raichur City Municipal Council, at a special general body meeting held here on Tuesday, decided to set aside Rs. 10 crore from the funds sanctioned under the Chief Minister’s Small and Medium Towns Development Programme for widening and developing important roads in the city.

A. Mareppa, president of the City Municipal Council, presided over the meeting.

The issue of widening and improving of the roads in the city came up for discussion when Ramachandrappa, City Municipal Commissioner, told the meeting that the Government had recently sanctioned Rs. 30 crore under the Chief Minister’s Small and Medium Towns Development Programme to take up road and drainage improvement, slum development and improvement of infrastructure in the city.

Mr. Ramachandrappa said that the fund sanctioned under the programme should be utilised within two years after its release mainly for the development of basic amenities like roads and drains. Fifty per cent of the total funds released should be reserved for widening and improvement of roads and drainages, 20 per cent for improvement of facilities in the slum localities and 30 per cent for improvement of basic facilities in the city.

The notified developmental works should be implemented immediately after the release of funds and should be completed within two years, he added.

Mr. Ramachandrappa informed the meeting that after getting approval from the council, an action plan would be prepared in accordance with the norms prescribed under the programme and will be submitted to the district administration for scrutiny.

Then, the Deputy Commissioner would forward it to the Government seeking its final approval.

The Opposition Congress member Jayanna suggested that the development work should be taken up on the stretch between Station Circle and Gunj Circle via Basaveshwara Circle. Approving the proposal moved by Mr. Jayanna, Mr. Mareppa said that he would ask the officials at the planning branch in the city municipality to prepare an action plan after inspecting the said stretch of the road. The finalised action plan would be submitted to the district administration for scrutiny and further approval from the Government.

The meeting also discussed the steps to be taken to create awareness among the public to prevent spread of A(H1N1) in the city. Mr. Jayanna raised the issue when he asked what measures the city municipality had initiated in containing the spread of A(H1N1).

The Hindu - Karnataka 12.08.2009

‘Cow slaughter ban is a tool to oppress Dalits’

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: The ban on cow slaughter proposed by the State Government is designed as a tool to target minority communities and Dalits, alleged political leaders, scholars and activists at a meeting convened by the Tipu Sultan United Front here on Tuesday.

In a country where 50 per cent of the population consumes beef, this ban that appeases sentiments of a numerically small upper caste Hindu community is unjust, said D. Manohar Chandra Prasad, Coordinator, Dalit Christian Federation, Karnataka.

The ban on cow slaughter will impact not just consumers of beef but also thousands of workers in the leather industry.

Historian N.V. Narasimaiah said the ban amounts to a violation of fundamental rights. Beef, he said, is an essential source of protein for thousands of people.

He said that with the fear of a food crisis looming large, a ban on beef and cow slaughter would deal a blow to nutrition intake. Quoting from old Indian texts, including Vatsayana Kamasutra and Valmiki Ramayana, Prof. Narasimaiah pointed out several references that sanctioned eating beef. “We are not opposed to the ban on the slaughter of cows — but why should the ban include all cattle?” he asked.

Prakash K., Bangalore district secretary of CPI(M), traced the changing perceptions about cows in India and how the animal came to be sacralised.

“The concept of a ‘Hindu nation’ is alien to the indigenous culture of India. Outfits like the RSS aim to create internal enemies by branding people as ‘anti-national’ for their cultural habits,” Mr. Prakash has said.