Kalyana Karnataka Horata Samiti founder-president Lakshman Dasti and honorary president Basavaraj Deshmukh addressing presspersons in Kalaburagi on Monday.
| Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI

Members of the Kalyana Karnataka Horata Samiti have said that it is time the Centre accepted demands of the region and clear long-pending projects in the upcoming Union Budget.

Addressing presspersons here on Monday, samiti founder-president Lakshman Dasti and honorary president Basavaraj Deshmukh said that the Centre should realize the fact that Kalyana Karnataka region has poor social and economic indicators with its districts falling well below the State and national averages on most socio-economic parameters.

The samiti demanded that the Union government extend financial assistance for implementing the third phase of Upper Krishna Project, a crucial irrigation project that aims to provide water to drought-prone areas in the region.

Railway projects

The samiti urged the Union government to establish a Railway Divisional office in Kalaburagi. The government should also start a new train named Kalyana Karnataka Express to Bengaluru covering Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur and Ballari districts. Mr. Dasti urged the government to complete the Gadag-Wadi railway line and Vijayapura-Shahabad railway line for which a survey was conducted 15 years ago.

The Railway Ministry should also resume the following train services Kalaburagi- Hyderabad, Bijapur-Raichur-Guntakal and Wadi-Hyderabad that were stopped during the pandemic. The demands also included sanctioning a second ring road and establishing a mega textiles park in the city.

Healthcare

He said that the demand for establishment of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kalyana Karnataka region is pending for long and urged the government to set up a new branch of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in the region.

Air services

The Union government should show special concern for improving the Kalaburagi and Raichur Airports by starting flight services to new destinations such as Delhi, Hyderabad and Tirupati under the UDAAN scheme.

He said that Kalaburagi MP Radhakrishna Doddamani recently wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this. He also met the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, the Minister for Railways, Minister for Textiles, Minister for Health and family Welfare, Minister for Civil Aviation, Minister for Jal Shakti and Minister for Heavy Industries and discussed various issues concerning the respective Ministries.

Mr. Dasti warned that the samiti will intensify its agitation in all the seven districts of the region if the Centre neglects the demands of the region in its forthcoming Union Budget.