Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: Congress, BJP spar over tax devolution, fund allocation for guarantees, and more

As the political slugfest over devolution of Central funds to Karnataka under the NDA regime continued in the Legislative Assembly on March 17, the ruling Congress and opposition BJP members sparred over release of funds for development works by the State government.

CM Siddaramaiah said Karnataka did not get a special grant of ₹5,495 crore that was mentioned in the 15th finance commission’s interim report. The Centre denied ₹5,300 crore to the Upper Bhadra project, also mentioned in the 2023-24 Union Budget. Though the State would pay ₹5 lakh crore to the Centre in taxes, it would receive only ₹50,000 crore (10%) in 2025-26, he said.

Countering the Chief Minister’s remark, BJP members said the Central government spent a lot of funds for developing railways, Namma Metro in Bengaluru, expressways and highways, airports, housing, health insurance, subsidies for fertilisers, minimum support price for various commodities, irrigation projects and allots 5 kg of rice to Karnataka for BPL cardholders.

Environmentalists and seers of a couple of mutts in Shivamogga will hold a protest meet and march in Shivamogga on March 19 opposing the Sharavati Pumped Storage project. Abhinava Channabasava Mahaswamy of Mulegadde mutt at Hosanagara and Basava Marulasidda Swamy of Basava Kendra in Shivamogga are among those expected to take part in the meeting.

The environmentalists, who are part of the Sharavati Nadi Kanive – Ulisi Horata Okkuta of Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts, have appealed to the people of Shivamogga district to join the protest in large numbers to put pressure on the government of Karnataka not to take up the project. They will hold a protest meeting at Gopi Cirlce.

A 69-year-old woman in Karnataka died due to Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), a viral infection, on March 15. The woman is a native of Kattinamane in N.R. Pura taluk of Chikkamagaluru district. She complained of high fever when she had been to her son’s place at Melpal. She was taken to the government hospital at Koppa on March 13.

The laboratory tests of her blood sample revealed KFD infection. She was admitted to the KFD ward in the hospital. As her condition deteriorated, the doctors referred her to a hospital in Manipal. She breathed her last on March 15 on the way to the hospital. Since January this year, 46 KFD cases have been reported in Chikkamagaluru district, but this was the first death.