Newskarnataka – Bangalore
Bangalore: The fact that Karnataka is battling a drought, has not impeded the travel plans of a group of law-makers from different parties who are determined to travel on yet another “study tour” to Australia and New Zealand in the fourth week of May.
The State Government has declared 125 of 176 taluks in the state as drought hit, but it seems that the Legislators have different priorities, and are busy planning this tour. The members of the State Legislative Assembly Committee on Government Assurances took this decision during a meeting at the Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday April 30.
The Tanvir Sait led Committee of the State Assembly on Government Assurances held a meeting to discuss programmes and assurances of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, following severe drinking water shortage in various districts of the State. It is learnt that the legislators, who were involved in hectic electioneering work in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls, planned to undertake tour after the declaration of the Lok Sabha elections results on May 16 and will be headed by a former minister and Congress MLA from Mysore district Tanvir Sait,
It does hurt the common man’s sensibilities, that our legislators undergo study tours just for enjoyment sake and file ‘funny’ and ‘baseless’ evaluation reports on return, and even more so, when the state is reeling under drought.
JD(S) MLA and party spokesman Y S V Datta, who is one of the members of the Committee on Government Assurances, told reporters in the Vidhana Soudha, that he was not interested to go abroad at a time when several parts of the State were reeling under severe drought and facing drinking water shortage.
But, obviously, the foreign tour must have taken precedence over the problems of the people.
Members of the Legislature Committee for the Welfare of Backward Classes and Minorities headed by B R Yavagal, former minister, had came under sharp criticism from the Opposition parties as well the public on that grounds tours were undertaken when the State was reeling under drought.
