Ravindra Srikantaiah, Srirangapatna MLA, has questioned the Mandya district administration’s wisdom of spending ₹13 lakh on the ‘bagina’ programme at KRS reservoir attended by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddiyurappa last Friday.
“What was the need for spending such an amount for making arrangements for ‘bagina’ at a time when people are suffering due to the pandemic and the consequences arising out of it?”, questioned Mr. Srikantaiah, an MLA belonging to the JD(S).
He also expressed surprise over the district administration incurring such a huge amount for putting up festoons of mango leaves and other cultural decorations.
Though KRS reservoir falls in Srirangapanta Assembly constituency, Mr. Srikantaiah said Deputy Commissioner M.V. Venkatesh did not bother to consult him on the arrangements for the occasion.
“The local zilla panchayat members and taluk panchayat members had not been invited for the event while BJP workers had been given entry passes to KRS liberally,” he said. Also, reporters from Mandya were disallowed entry into the venue for the programme and were kept waiting at the entrance for a long time. By the time they were let in, the programme had concluded,” he said.
Meanwhile, farmers organisations including Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Hasiru Sene and some Dalit organisations had also criticised the government’s decision to offer ‘bagina’ at KRS and Kabini reservoirs at a time when people of the State were reeling under the impact of COVID-19, floods, and crop loss.
When the programme was announced, KRRS leader Badagalapura Nagendra had said that there is little meaning in offering ‘bagina’ when people were suffering.
