Minister says Cabinet has cleared proposal for cloud seeding in drought-hit areas

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Major Irrigation Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy on Thursday told the Legislative Assembly that the State Cabinet has given clearance for taking up cloud seeding if necessary in drought-hit areas.

The Minister was replying to a call-attention notice tabled by Congress member N.H. Konareddy, who appealed to the government to take up cloud seeding in the parched districts that are facing a shortage of drinking water and fodder due to deficient rainfall. Mr. Konaraddy said the experiment of legislators from Haveri district taking up cloud seeding had yielded positive results, with the district witnessing some amount of rainfall.

Responding positively to the MLA’s suggestion, the Minister said that a proposal had already been discussed and approved by the State Cabinet.

Meanwhile, the Assembly commenced the debate on the drought gripping the State, even as Opposition BJP-JD(S) members were protesting, seeking the resignation of Minister for Planning and Statistics B. Nagendra. On Thursday, only ruling Congress members participated in the debate, which remained inconclusive.

The ruling members, including Mr. Konareddy, who participated in the debate on the drought, appealed to Opposition members to end their protest and take part in the debate. Mr. Konareddy appealed to the government to take a delegation to the Centre to convince the Centre to immediately release drought assistance for Karnataka.

Protesting Opposition members said they too were eager to debate on drought, but the government must sack Mr. Nagendra, who has been chargesheeted by investigation agencies, to facilitate such a debate, they insisted.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok asked the ruling members to seek the release of drought relief funds from the government and the constitution of task forces led by MLAs to execute relief works. It was a matter of concern that relief measures were yet to be seriously implemented despite prolonged dry spells, he said.

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