Bangalore, Oct 23: Hoping for ASSISTANCE: Actor Shantamma approaches Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday to seek financial help for her two children who are suffering from cancer. dh photo
The tribulations of veteran Kannada actor J Shanthamma came to the fore during the Chief Minister’s Janata Darshan at his official residence here on Tuesday.
With mounting medical bills of her two grown-up children who are suffering from cancer, Shanthamma was seen submitting her petition to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking financial help.
While Siddaramaiah tried to lend an ear to her woes, the surging number of people waiting to meet him forced the chief minister to refer her to his joint secretary.
Later, Shanthamma told reporters that her daughter and son were bed-ridden due to cancer. She said that one of her grandchildren was born deaf and dumb. She added that pending medical bills for her daughter alone amounted to Rs seven lakh, while that of her son was Rs eight lakh. Siddaramaiah said that he will try to financially help her ‘as much as possible’.
Another elderly woman, K C Usha, living in an old age home after having lost all her family members, sought the chief minister’s help in getting a couple sarees and a bucket. Usha was sent back with an assurance that her request would be met.
A jobless B Shailini, who hails from Siddaramaiah’s birthplace of Siddaramanahundi, was more fortunate. Responding to her petition, he immediately ordered officials to provide her a job in the Chief Minister’s office.
Token system
The State government on Tuesday introduced a token system for people coming to meet the chief minister during janata darshan at his official residence. Accordingly, tokens were issued to the people who had come to meet the chief minister. The tokens, a slip with a serial number and the date of issue, will serve as an acknowledgment for the citizens who can follow up on their petitions. As on Tuesday afternoon, the government had issued 350 tokens.
Security personnel at the official residence of the chief minister said people with ailments have to walk-in at their own peril on the days when they want to meet Siddaramaiah. The government has made it clear that no medicines, no matter what the condition of the person, will be allowed inside the premises while meeting chief minister at his official residence.
Such a decision has been taken as a person had tried to consume poison, stuffed inside a pill, during the janata darshan some time ago.
Farmers seek permission to die
At the Janata Darshan, 11 families of farmers from Mekerahalli village in Sira taluk, Tumkur district, sought the government’s permission for mercy killing.
They pleaded with Siddaramaiah to permit them to die as they were not able to eke out as a living as government land promised to them under the Bagair Hukum scheme has not been sanctioned. They alleged that officials were harassing them by not giving them the rights to cultivate the said land in Mudigere Kaval in Sira.
The farmers said that despite all kinds of protest, they were not given the right to cultivate the land. Siddaramaiah tried to pacify them and said that he will look into the matter.
