KRRS chief urges govt to shift proposed Nimhans work to dry land

Mysuru: The opposition to the proposed Nimhans hospital at Gudumadanahalli village in Varuna constituency further intensified, with Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) president Badagalapura Nagendra urging the state govt to shift the hospital to any dry wasteland instead of acquiring farmers' land.Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, Nagendra said the land identified for the hospital is fertile agricultural land with water available round the year and has been classified as a green zone. He argued that the site is unsuitable for a major hospital project.He clarified that farmers are not opposing the construction of the Nimhans hospital itself, but are objecting to the choice of location. He said farmers would not raise any objection if the hospital is built at an alternative site.Nagendra urged CM Siddaramaiah to personally inspect the land before taking a final decision. He expressed confidence that the CM would direct officials to identify another location after reviewing the ground situation.He also appealed to Siddaramaiah's MLC son Yathindra Siddaramaiah to pay attention to the concerns of farmers and ensure that any development project does not harm the environment.Meanwhile, activist Ugra Narasimhegowda criticised state govt, alleging that CM Siddaramaiah and MLC Yathindra were not responding to the sentiments of farmers regarding the proposed hospital project.He warned that political power is not permanent and said voters would teach a lesson to leaders perceived as anti-people in future elections. KRRS chief Badagalapura Nagendra alleged that the BJP benefited in West Bengal due to manipulation in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. "Karnataka would not be allowed to witness a situation similar to Bengal and asserted that progressive organisations and farmer groups would oppose any attempt to manipulate voter lists," he said. Nagendra said various progressive organisations requested CM Siddaramaiah to convene a meeting on the issue, following which the CM held discussions on it on Friday. He said he participated in it.He alleged that irregularities took place during voter list revisions in Bengal, claiming that names of several minority and other voters were deleted from electoral rolls. He said the ruling Trinamool Congress lost many constituencies by margins of just a few thousand votes due to deletion of nearly 34 lakh votes.