Mysore, May 26 (DHNS): Chief Minister  Siddaramaiah on Saturday announced a relief of Rs one lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to the families of four children who died of dengue at D Salundi village in the district.

While the cause of death due to dengue is confirmed in two cases, reports are awaited in the remaining cases.

The chief minister took stock of the situation at the makeshift hospital on the premises of the government higher primary school. He told reporters that the medical expenditure of children undergoing treatment would be reimbursed.

 He said the department of Health and Family Welfare had been instructed to make arrangements at K R Hospital, besides private hospitals, for treatment of patients with dengue or dengue-like symptoms.

Siddaramaiah appealed to the villagers to drink boiled water only. The root cause of the fever was consumption of water stored in unhygienic conditions, he said.

Taking note of the villagers’ demand for adequate drinking water supply, he said he was aware that the village had been facing water problems for several years. He promised the people that a total of 34 villages including D Salundi, Devagalli, Mullur and Dhangalli would benefit from the Kabini drinking water scheme.

Inspector’s suspension

Siddaramaiah denied that he influenced the suspension of Nazarbad police inspector G N Mohan, who had registered a case against his son Rakesh during the run-up to the Assembly elections. The chief minister said that “the inspector had booked a false case” and the police had taken the “necessary action”.

Speaking to reporters on his arrival at the Lalitha Mahal Palace helipad in the city, Siddaramaiah dismissed the allegation levelled by former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy that he had been selected under the liquor lobby and was making attempts to introduce cheap liquor.

Siddaramaiah clarified that it was just a thinking in the interest of those earlier dependent on arrack, which was banned during the Kumaraswamy regime.

Previous instance

The chief minister defended the decision of the government to table another budget for the current fiscal, although his predecessor Jagadish Shettar had presented a budget. He cited a previous instance when the S M Krishna government that succeeded the JD(U) government had presented a new budget.

The chief minister refused to comment on his reported statement about taking back temples handed over to mutts into the government’s control.