Congress leaders during a massive rally at the National College grounds in Bengaluru on Thursday
A day ahead of Karnataka Assembly’s budget session, Congress’s Mekedatu march ends
The Congress’s Mekedatu march, or “walk for water”, demanding the implementation of a reservoir project to boost drinking water supply to the Karnataka capital and its surrounding areas, concluded on Thursday with a massive rally at the National College grounds in Bengaluru.
Former chief minister Siddaramaiah castigated the state government saying that it did not have the guts to ask the Centre to implement the project. Congress state president D K Shivakumar said that more than 10 cases had been registered by the BJP government for carrying out a march for a public cause.
While the first leg of march drew a lot of attention amid increasing Covid-19 cases, some Congress leaders were not happy with Shivakumar’s decision to start the second leg from Sunday. An organiser of the march said, “The purpose of holding the march was to pressure the government and to build a narrative, especially in south Karnataka in the run-up to the Assembly elections next year. However, the prevailing Russia-Ukraine crisis, where Karnataka students are stranded, has hogged all the media coverage.” The march could have been restarted after the budget session starting on Friday.
Ahead of Karnataka budget, petition demands reduced fare on BMTC buses
Ahead of the Karnataka budget on March 4, Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV), a public transport advocacy group, submitted a petition to chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and transport minister B Sriramulu to allocate Rs 1000 crore annually to the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) so that bus fares could be reduced for general public and free for women, transgenders and senior citizens. The petition has garnered over 6500 signatures.