Belagavi South Abhay Patil made a point at the Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday.
Photo Credits: Louis Rodrigues
Belagavi
While overall development, including the implementation of the Mhadei water diversion project, was discussed during the penultimate day of the ongoing Winter Session of the Karnataka State Legislature in Belagavi, Goa took centre stage. The ruling as well as the opposition MLAs blamed the senior officials and other representatives for visiting Belagavi with the purpose of holidaying in Goa.
The elected representatives from Belagavi and the North Karnataka region have also blamed the present and earlier governments for erecting the Suvarna Vidhan Soudha (SVS) in Belagavi as a “lollypop” for the people, as the very purpose of the overall development of Belagavi and North Karnataka takes a backseat during the Winter Session. Karnataka has 224 MLAs and 75 MLCs.
Speaking at the Assembly, former Karnataka minister and Congress MLA from Athani, Laxman Savadi, questioned the speaker about the absence of the majority of senior officers and secretaries for the session. “Are they here for holidaying, or have they gone to Goa for a picnic?” a visibly enraged Savadi asked.
BJP MLA from Belagavi South, Abhay Patil, also accused the officers and lawmakers who were absent, stating that the Winter Session has become a “touring talkies” for entertainment. Many of these visitors to the Belagavi session take the opportunity to visit Goa. “They reach Belagavi in the morning, and in the evening, you will find them in Goa,” MLA Patil said, giving references to many personal and telephonic discussions.
He also urged the government to hold international summits like SAARC, etc., at SVS in Belagavi, as the city is located at a short distance from Goa and Kolhapur.
“Every government talks of development beyond Bengaluru; however, beyond Bengaluru means only till Hubballi. Kindly see that the slogan of development beyond Bengaluru can reach till Belagavi, the border district of the state,” MLA Patil urged.
“Today, the huge concourse of the SVS stands haunted throughout the year. With the excellent infrastructure, international summits and conferences can be easily held here, which will boost the development of Belagavi and also provide an added boost to Belagavi-Goa region tourism,” another MLA stated.
