'Hope Centre respects public sentiments on Aero India issue'

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today hoped the Centre would respect and respond positively to public sentiments in favor of holding the Aero India show here itself and not shift it to Lucknow. Kumaraswamy, who has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, raised it during his Independence day address after hoisting the tricolor.

The Congress had alleged that the Modi government was planning to shift the show to Lucknow for political gains in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year. Union Minister Ananth Kumar had clarified yesterday that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had confirmed that there was no decision on the matter.

"The public is strongly opposed to shifting of this event. I have written to the Prime Minister and Defence Minister and brought this issue to the notice of Members of Parliament too," the chief minister said. On demands from various quarters for separate statehood for North Karnataka, he said the strong will of the people have silenced the 'feeble voices clamoring for the division.'

Kumaraswamy said the government has taken a big step to help farmers through a waiver of Rs 49,000 crore crop loans taken from cooperative as well as commercial banks. "Already crop loans in the cooperative sector has been waived, which will help 20.38 lakh farmers," he said. Kumaraswamy said the government would organize 1,000 theatre shows named 'Gandhi-150, a theatrical journey' all over Karnataka on Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary on October 2.

The chief minister said that along with infrastructure and other facilities, education for all, health for all and social security for all is the priority of his government. The government intends to establish industrial clusters in various districts and create one lakh jobs in each of them Kumaraswamy said. He said the government would accord priority to employment generation beyond Bengaluru in Tier II and III cities of the state, he said.

The Chief Minister said Karnataka tops in renewable energy production in the country and added that hydel power generation is also expected to be more this year. The 370 MW gas-based power plant at Yelahanka was expected to start functioning this year, Kumaraswamy said.

"The transmission network will be strengthened by setting up 35 substations and adding 800 kilometers of transmission lines. Seven hours power supply will be given to irrigation pump sets wherever possible," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)