Siddaramaiah participates in Kalyana Karnataka Utsav celebrations

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday participated in the Kalyana Karnataka Utsava in Kalaburagi city.

The day marks the “liberation” of Bidar, Kalaburagi and Raichur districts in 1948. They had been ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad prior to that. It also marks a decade of conferring special status to the Kalyana Karnataka region by implementation of Article 371(j) of Constitution.

On the occasion, the CM heaped praise on the region and its rich history, mentioning moral reformer and philosopher Basavanna, sufi saints and rulers such as Kalyana Chalukyas, Bahamani Sultans and Rashtrakutas among others.

He mentioned the king Amoghavarsha Nrupatunga who gave Kavirajamarga, the first available ‘kriti’ in Kannada. “Hyderabad Karnataka Development Board was established in 1990, based on report of (former CM) late N Dharam Singh to eradicate the regional imbalance in Kalaburagi, Bidar, Raichur and Ballari districts. Development didn’t happen as expected though special grants were allocated to the board,” Siddaramaiah said.

“This led to the movement demanding amendment to article 371 of the constitution to confer special status to Hyderabad Karnataka region. Although the NDA Government rejected the proposal, the continuous efforts of Mallikarjun Kharge and N Dharam Singh yielded fruits and Manmohan Singh led UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government brought amendment to the Constitution and implemented article 371 (j),” he added.

He also pointed that in his first chief ministerial term in 2013, his State government established Hyderabad Karnataka Regional Development Board, with efforts to accelerate the Development process in the region.

The Government implemented reservation for people of the region in employment and education. The CM spoke of the beneficiaries of the five guarantees in the region.

44 taluks in region drought-hit: CM

Siddaramaiah disclosed that of the 195 drought-affected taluks in the state, 44 had been in the Kalyana Karnataka region.

“The state is reeling under drought and the government has announced 161 severely drought affected taluks and 34 moderately drought affected taluks. These lists include 38 and 6 talukas of Kalyana Karnataka region respectively. Orders have already been issued to take up drought relief works,” he said.