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United News of India
08-07-2025
- Business
- United News of India
Karnataka approves Rs 244 cr for Annabhagya amid lorry strike
Bengaluru, July 8 (UNI) The Karnataka government has sanctioned an additional Rs 244.10 crore to cover increased costs under the Annabhagya scheme for the February-May 2025 period, amid a continuing lorry strike triggered by unpaid transportation dues amounting to Rs 250 crore. The newly approved funds are aimed at addressing wholesale and retail margins and transportation charges, excluding the cost of rice procurement. This follows a prior allocation of Rs 2,082.99 crore for purchasing additional rice and other associated expenses under the same scheme, of which Rs 21.79 crore remains unutilized. The lorry strike, now entering a critical phase, has halted food grain movement across the state, raising concerns about ration supply disruptions. Truck owners have warned of worsening logistics delays unless the government settles the long-pending arrears. Opposition parties have slammed the Congress-led administration for what they call fiscal mismanagement and warned that failure to resolve the strike could paralyze the state's public distribution system. They have demanded an immediate resolution to safeguard food security for economically vulnerable sections. The Annabhagya scheme, a flagship welfare program, provides free rice to below-povertyline families and is seen as politically crucial for the ruling dispensation. However, the ongoing financial strain and operational bottlenecks have exposed governance gaps in scheme implementation and payment logistics. The Finance and Food & Civil Supplies departments are expected to hold joint talks with transport unions this week in an attempt to break the deadlock. UNI BDN RKM
Hans India
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
CM will launch distribution of new ration cards on July 14, says Uttam
Hyderabad: State Irrigation, Food & Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy announced on Wednesday that the state government would begin distributing new ration cards from July 14 at Tirumalagiri in Tungaturthi constituency. The programme will be formally inaugurated by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, with Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka also participating. The Minister directed collectors to complete verification of all eligible applications by July 13 to ensure no deserving family was left out. Uttam Kumar Reddy stressed that the beneficiary selection process must be transparent and corruption-free. 'The government's focus is to ensure that every eligible person gets a ration card without any discrimination,' he said, adding that review meetings will now be held twice a month to maintain strict oversight. Uttam Kumar Reddy explained that Telangana's flagship free fine rice scheme delivers 6 kg of rice per person every month to nearly 3.10 crore people, about 84% of the population, through fair price shops, at a cost of over Rs 13,000 crore annually. In June, July, and August, the state provided three months' worth of rations at once to ensure uninterrupted supply, distributing 18 kg per person, 105 kg per Antyodaya family, and 30 kg per Annapurna family. He sharply criticised the previous BRS government for neglecting food security and ration card enrolment. 'At the time of Telangana's formation in 2014, there were 89.73 lakh white ration cards, but the BRS added only around 49,000 new cards, mostly during by-elections, ignoring lakhs of families,' Uttam Kumar Reddy pointed out. He said the Congress government had received lakhs of new applications and was addressing them in a mission-driven manner.
Hans India
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
BRS doing propaganda on Jurala, Manjeera: Uttam
Hyderabad: StateIrrigation, Food & Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday strongly condemned what he described as the propaganda and 'highly condemnable disinformation' being spread by BRS leaders over the condition of old irrigation projects such as Jurala and Manjeera. He said that the issues being witnessed today in these projects were directly the result of BRS's ten-year-long negligence and failure to carry out even routine maintenance, not because of any fault of the Congress government. He underlined that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had personally taken interest in safeguarding Jurala dam by acting decisively to sanction ₹100 crore for an alternative bridge. Revanth's move was intended to reduce heavy vehicular traffic on the Jurala dam surface and prevent any long-term damage to the dam structure, he explained. 'Revanth Reddy himself was particular that Jurala must be protected, and he ensured this sanction today,' Uttam Kumar Reddy said. He stressed that allegations regarding ropes and stroke gates at Jurala were a non-issue, and engineers and technical experts had clearly confirmed there was no threat to the dam's operations. 'BRS leaders are simply trying to do propaganda and mislead farmers, instead of owning up to their failures,' he charged. He reaffirmed that the Congress government was sincere and fully committed to properly maintaining all old projects while also building new ones for the long-term irrigation needs of Telangana. 'We are systematically restoring every project they ignored - Jurala, Manjeera, Nagarjuna Sagar, SRSP, Kalwakurthy, Koilsagar, Bhima – on priority for Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme. Our goal is to make the entire undivided Mahabubnagar district green and lush again,' he stated. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who inspected Jurala along with Minister Vakiti Srihari, Planning Board Vice-Chairman Dr G Chinna Reddy, MLAs Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, Megha Reddy, Parinika Reddy, Vijayudu, AICC secretary Sampath Kumar, former ZP Chairperson Saritha Tirupathiah, Collector Santosh Kumar and senior engineers, said that no minimum operation and maintenance was carried out under BRS rule for ten years. There was no routine desiltation, no sediment or vegetation removal, and no upgrades, he said. 'Jurala's capacity alone has dropped by nearly 20–25% due to silt accumulation,' he revealed.
The Hindu
18-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
NTPC Simhadri wins gold in OOH Advertising and silver in CSR at Tusker Awards 2025
NTPC Simhadri was conferred with `Gold in Excellence' in OOH Advertising and Silver for Excellence in CSR at the Tusker awards 2025, organised by the ICTEP Council in Trivandrum. The event was graced by Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, who delivered a keynote address, and G.R. Anil, Kerala Minister for Food & Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs, and Legal Metrology, according to a release here on Sunday.
