State govt. plans decennial ceremony to mark special status for Kalyana Karnataka region

Kalyana Karnataka region to celebrate 10 years of special status under Article 371(J) with grand decennial ceremony.

Considering the importance of special status accorded to Kalyana Karnataka region, which comprises seven north-eastern districts of the State, under Article 371(J) of the Constitution, the State government has planned to organise a grand decennial ceremony to commemorate the amendment.

Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that Article 371(J) has not only opened the floodgates of development of the region by allocation of special grants but also offers reservation for candidates from the region in government jobs and seats in educational institutions.

“With the special efforts of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and president of All India Congress Committee Mallikarjun Kharge, Kalyana Karnataka got special status under Article 371(J). The region has completed 10 years after achieving special status. Notable initiatives have been taken up for the region’s development under the provision in the last 10 years. The State government has planned to organise a decennial ceremony. We will invite Leaders of Opposition in the Assembly and Council for the event,” Mr. Shivakumar said.

Taking note of the establishment of several health institutions in Kalaburagi, the Deputy Chief Minister said that Kalaburagi is fast growing into a medical hub.

“Augmenting healthcare facilities in Kalaburagi, ESIC Medical Complex is already offering multiple healthcare services to the people. A Trauma Care Centre has already been opened for public use. A branch of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research with 371 beds is ready for inauguration. The Kalaburagi branch of Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology will be expanded. The Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health will also come up shortly in the city. With these medical facilities, we have turned Kalaburagi into a medical hub in the region. As a result, people in and around Kalaburagi can avail themselves of superior healthcare facilities in their neighbourhood instead of going to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and other faraway cities,” Mr. Shivakumar said.

Also, Mr. Shivakumar said that the government has planned to felicitate all engineers and workers who worked day and night to fix the damaged crest gate at the Tungabhadra Reservoir and saved a lot of water for farmers to irrigate their land.

“When Crest Gate No 19 of Tungabhadra Reservoir was washed away, we all were worried. However, the team of expert engineers assisted by workers and officials fixed the problem within a week. Due to their hard work, a large amount of water stored in the dam for irrigation has been saved. I am hopeful that the reservoir will again be full given the weather forecast of good rainfall in the catchment area for the next few days. We will shortly felicitate all those who worked for installing the stoplog gate in place of the damaged gate risking their lives,” Mr. Shivakumar said.