District administration has failed to solve the sand problem – Mattar Rathnakar Hegde
Udupi: The district administration and state government has utterly failed to solve the sand problem in the district said Mattar Rathnakar Hegde district president of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He was speaking at a press meet held at Hotel Kidiyoor on Tuesday, September 20. He said that The people affected following a stay order on sand mining activities in the district have condemned the lackadaisical approach of the district administration in representing the stance at the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Chennai. The deputy commissioner and district in-charge minister have not responded to the issue. The district administration in Dakshina Kannada is proactive when compared to that of Udupi. Construction activities have come to a standstill. The people’s representatives are least bothered about the hindrance for the development activities in the district.
The people who are dependent on the business are struggling. The district administration has failed to do any preparations to appear before the NGT. The case was not represented by the experienced advocates. Instead, the case was handled by an inexperienced lawyer who failed to convince the tribunal.
22 like-minded associations have decided to stage a massive protest rally on September 22 against the administration. The BJP Udupi district will also participate in the rally, he added.
Condemning the statement made by Dinesh Gundu Rao aginst Narendra Modi on the Uri terror attack on his recent visit to Udupi, Mattar said that from 2004-2014 when congress was ruling more than 4000 soldiers were killed in various terror attacks. It is an extremely barbaric attack on the soldiers. Congress should not politicize the attack; it should join hands to control terrorism in the country, he said.
Responding to the statement of T B Jayachandra law minister of Karnataka on the Cauvery water row, Mattar said that the prime minister cannot interfere in the Cauvery water dispute issue because it is in the Supreme Court. If both states agree for a dialogue only then the Prime Minister can call a joint meeting of the states.
When B S Yeddyurappa was the Chief Minister, he had announced Rs 5 as a subsidy for milk producers. When congress came to power they announced a subsidy of Rs 4, but till today Rs 450 crore subsidy amount to be released to the milk producers of Udupi and DK districts is pending. The state government should help and support the farmers in dairy farming, he added.
When media persons asked about the BJP stand in handing over the government hospital to Abu Dhabi-based Entrepreneur, Mattar said that BJP always opposes giving any government institution to private persons. The hospital had been donated to the government by Haji Abdul Sahib with an intention that a state-run hospital comes up there. Hegde urged the government to reconsider its decision. When Pramod Madhwaraj contested the Assembly elections he had assured the people that he would build a 500-bed multi-speciality hospital for the people of Udupi. Now he should fulfill his assurance, he added.
Yaspal Suvana, Shyamala Kundar, Krian Kumar, Kuthyaru Naveen Shetty, Suprasad Shetty, Shreesha Nayak, Sandhya Nayak, Ranjith Salian, Katapadi Shanker Poojary and others were present.
