Emphasising that all requisite steps had been taken by the State government to ensure that the beneficiaries of five guarantee schemes received the benefits without any hassles, Labour Minister Santosh Lad on Saturday said that the government would implement more programmes in the coming days to make Karnataka a model state.
He was addressing a huge gathering of beneficiaries of guarantee schemes from Hubballi Dharwad Central and East constituencies at Railway Ground in Hubballi on Saturday.
Mr. Lad, who is also district-in-charge Minister for Dharwad, said the huge participation of women in the ‘Guarantee Convention’ was proof of the successful implementation of the schemes.
“When the Prime Minister Manomohan Singh-led Congress government was in power, the food security bill was passed and Right to Education (RTE) was implemented. Under MNREGA, 27 crore people are getting benefits. From a wage of ₹20 per day, now people are getting ₹320 as wage,” he said.
Elaborating on the various programmes and schemes implemented by the Congress-led governments in the nation, he said the convention was aimed at sensitising people about the government’s welfare and development programmes. “The Congress led government has declared Basavanna as the cultural leader of Karnataka and Constitution Awareness Jathas are being conducted across the State to create awareness on the Constitution framed by B.R. Ambedkar,” he said.
Chairman of Karnataka Slum Development Board and MLA Prasad Abbayya spoke about how effectively the guarantee schemes had been implemented in the State. This apart, the government was working towards resolving the problems of the people in a time-bound manner, he said, adding that because of the guarantee schemes, the poor were now coming out the shackles of economic distress, he said.
An unprecedented number of people, mostly women, participated in the convention, where mobile units aimed at creating awareness on the five guarantee schemes drew the attention of the participants. A mobile unit of ‘Constitution Awareness Jatha’ was also stationed at the convention venue.
Earlier the ‘Constitution Awareness Jatha’ was flagged off by the Labour Minister and other dignitaries. Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Divya Prabhu G.R.J. welcomed the gathering while Additional Deputy Commissioner Geeta C.D. administered the Preamble of the Constitution to the participants.
A host of officials and elected representatives were present. Young girls and boys dressed as historical personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Ambedkar, Basavanna, Kittur Chennamma, Onake Obavva and others were centre of attraction.
