The Hindu : Karnataka News : Bridge the information gap, says Kumaraswamy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 01, 2007
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka

Bridge the information gap, says Kumaraswamy

Special Correspondent

Vartha Soudha will be functional in a month

Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

People-centric: Minister of Industries Katta Subramanya Naidu, Cooperation Minister G.T. Deve Gowda and Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy at the inauguration of the Vartha Soudha in Bangalore on Sunday.

BANGALORE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy inaugurated “Vartha Soudha”, a building to house the Information Department on Sunday. He called upon the officials of the department to work effectively towards bridging the information gap between the Government and the people.

Mr. Kumarswamy said that more funds would be sanctioned to the Information Department to complete the construction of all seven floors of the Vartha Soudha, in the coming years. The building now has a ground, first and second floor.

Former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna laid the foundation stone for the Vartha Soudha on March 14, 2002, and it has taken over five years for the completion of the present building which cost Rs. 7 crore. Currently, the Information Department is located in a building owned by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation at Shivajinagar. Nagarjuna Constructions commenced the work on the building but later backed out on account of delay in the sanction of funds by the previous governments. The Public Works Department took up the work later.

Stating that officials of the Information Department should not confine their responsibility only towards giving advertisements in newspapers, the chief minister said the department should play a vital role in reaching the policies of the Government to the doorsteps of the people, he said.

K.V.R. Tagore, Commissioner, Information Department, said the department was facing severe shortage of funds and appealed to the Government to allocate more funds in the coming State Budget. The entire department would shift to the new building in a month, he said.

I.M. Vittal Murthy, Principal Secretary, Information and Tourism Department, explained the causes for the delay in completion of the building. Legislative Council Chairman B.K. Chandrashekar, who was the former Minister for Information, recalled the vision plan prepared in 2001.

Minister for Industries Katta Subramanya Naidu, who presided over the function, recalled various achievements of the JD(S)-BJP Government.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka