JD(S) State president H.K. Kumaraswamy has demanded that the Union government allocate funds to tackle the elephant menace in Hassan in its budget presentation on Saturday.
Speaking to presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the people of Alur and Sakleshpur taluks have been suffering because of the menace and many have lost their lives and vast tracts of land damaged because of frequent pachyderm movement. The State government had submitted a proposal for an elephant corridor for ₹272 crore to the Centre about six years ago. The people of both taluks have been demanding a permanent solution to the problem for the past decade. However, there has been no relief still, he said.
Besides this, Mr. Kumaraswamy said, coffee growers have been facing many problems. Both the elephant menace and heavy rains that lashed these taluks last year impacted production, and the price of coffee beans has fallen. “The Centre should consider the demands of the coffee-growing community and announce a support price for coffee,” he said.
Mr. Kumaraswamy, who is also MLA of Sakleshpur, said the Centre had not responded positively to a proposal on a railway line connecting Hassan and Sringeri via Belur. The railway station in Alur has not been utilised despite having staff, he said. The Railway Ministry should take note of the projects required to improve its services in Karnataka, he opined.
He also criticised the Union government over the economic slowdown and the increasing rate of unemployment. “Youngsters are apprehensive about their future as the government has failed to create the jobs that it had promised. More than 90,000 employees of BSNL had applied for voluntary retirement, and that alone shows how bad the administration has been,” he said.
To a question, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the government should not ban organisations such as the Popular Front of India in a hurry.
S. Dyave Gowda, president of the JD(S) Hassan taluk unit, and district spokesperson Hongere Raghu were present at the press meet.
