Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, who presided over the low-key Republic Day celebrations at Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground in Bengaluru on January 26, hailed the efforts and measures taken by the Karnataka Government to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
“We fought against COVID-19 even in 2021-22 very efficiently while the world struggled to handle it. We are entering 2022 with renewed vigour and optimism,” he said in his Republic Day address, his first since he took over as Governor in July 2021.
Mr. Gehlot thanked doctors, nurses, police personnel and other frontline workers for their tireless efforts. The Covid-19 war room, telemedicine, identification of those infected and quarantine observation were managed efficiently with advanced technology. “This has resulted in less number of deaths in Karnataka when compared to other parts of the world,” he said.
He outlined achievements made in various fields, citing the State Government’s approval of ₹1,472 crore development works for the benefit of farmers. To encourage education of their children in rural areas, ₹4.41 crore was transferred to the bank accounts of 16,176 students.
Social welfare schemes
For the year 2021-22, the State Government allocated ₹26,000 core for schemes under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) of which ₹11,000 crore has been spent till November 2021. A total of ₹3,710 crore has been allocated to the Social Welfare Department for implementation of various schemes towards SC welfare of which ₹2,014 crore was spent up to November 2021.
State has 524 tigers and 6,049 elephants
Karnataka, he said, has the second largest number of tigers (524_, and also holds the number one position in elephant headcount. The Governor said that as per the census of 2017, Karnataka has 6,049 elephants, who constitute 25% of India’s elephant population.
The Governor informed the status of Smart City projects. In Bengaluru, 77 roads covering a distance of 158 km have been selected for white-topping, of which 31 main roads have been developed. Referring to measures taken to rejuvenate Bellandur and Varthur lakes, the Governor said that upgradation of waste water distillation units in Koramangala and Challaghatta Valley will be taken up.
Due to the third wave of the pandemic and surge in COVID-19 cases, members of the public were not allowed to attend the parade, and invitees were limited to 200. This year, the Andhra Pradesh police participated in the parade along with teams from the Karnataka State Reserve Police, Border Security Force, Dog Squad, Traffic Wardens, Home Guards, Fire and Emergency Services.
