Commemoration of the greatest sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of freedom fighters

Minister Sharan Prakash Patil addresses a gathering after unfurling the national flag during Independence Day celebrations in Raichur on Thursday. | Photo: Santosh Sagar

Minister for Medical Education and District Collector of Raichur Sharan Prakash Patil unfurled the national flag at the Mahatma Gandhi District Stadium in Raichur on Thursday on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day celebrations.

He recalled the tremendous sacrifices made by hundreds of thousands of freedom fighters to end British rule and said that it was thanks to their sacrifices that the people of the country under British administration were able to escape from slavery and now enjoy rights under their own constitution, which ensures equality for all citizens of the country.

Dr. Patil detailed the development work undertaken so far in Raichur district and said that four mother and child hospitals with a capacity of 280 beds have been sanctioned.

These hospitals will come up in Raichur, Sindhanur, Manvi and Lingsugur. Construction work has started in 2022-23. In addition, 12 primary health centres have been sanctioned in the district and the tendering process is underway.

The minister in charge spoke in particular about the guarantee programs being implemented by the state government, as promised by Congress during the election campaign.

He said that hundreds of thousands of people are getting benefits under these schemes. “Under Shakti scheme, a total of 488.84 lakh women have travelled free of charge in public buses. 10,534 students who have completed undergraduate and diploma courses have registered for benefits under Yuva Nidhi scheme. A total of 305,220 house dwellers in the district have registered under Gruha Jyothi scheme,” he said.

To generate employment for the rural population, projects have been implemented under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA). 40,936 works have been initiated, 24,390 of them are in progress and the remaining works have been completed.

“6,895 new vacancies have been added to the existing 352,654 cards. The overall target for the number of working days in the district is 110 lakh and of these, 82.83 lakh have been completed so far,” he said.

Dr Patil also said that with grants from Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB), schools, anganwadis, hostels and toilets for women are being constructed to provide all the basic infrastructure. Teachers will also be appointed in government schools soon.

Seeds were distributed at subsidized prices. During the monsoon season, 4,737.90 quintals of seeds were distributed to 93,029 farmers.

Raichur district was one of four districts in the state to launch the National Blindness Eradication Programme, under which both eye tests and eye surgeries were conducted.

Under the programme, 1.972 million people have been given eye examinations and 65,350 people with vision problems have been given glasses. Of the 12,000 people diagnosed with cataracts, 4,000 have been operated on so far, he said.

Referring to the incident in which the main gate of the Tungabhadra Dam was washed away, Dr Patil said that farmers in the district may not have to fear any water shortage for their crops as the authorities would release large quantities of water from the dam to repair the main gate.

“According to the information available, there will be more rain within the next 15 days and the dam will receive a huge inflow of water, which will compensate for the amount already released,” he added.