From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, May 23: Vaccines will be provided to cinema supporting artistes on a priority basis and those in financial difficulties will be provided with houses at subsidized rates under the housing programmes of the Prime Minister and the chief minister, announced deputy chief minister and Covid Task Force chief Dr C N Ashwath Narayan in Bengaluru on Sunday.
He was speaking to reporters after distributing food kits to cinema supporting artistes on behalf of the Bharat Gowda Charitable Trust.
Dr Narayan said cinema supporting artistes in need of houses can submit applications for allotment of houses and such applications will be considered by the state government on a priority basis for allotment of houses at subsidized rates.
Answering questions from reporters on the Rs 3,000 financial compensation for artistes announced by chief minister B S Yediyurappa, the Deputy chief minister said there was some confusion about whether the cinema artistes will also be eligible for the grant.
"I will take up the issue with Kannada and Culture Department to ensure that cinema artistes were also provided with the economic compensation,’’ he said.
The State Covid Task Force chief said the cinema supporting artistes will be considered as a priority group for providing vaccination. "We have asked that a comprehensive list of such artistes must be provided,’’ he said.
He also promised to give a cheque for payment of Rs 1,000 each to all the cinema supporting artistes, who received the food kits, on his personal behalf.
To a question on Congress opposition leader Siddaramaiah’s charge that the state government was deliberately hiding facts about the actual cases and deaths due to the Covid pandemic, Dr Narayan said the charge was baseless.
The Covid positive testing results are recorded at different levels and the deaths are also recorded at different levels. Everything is done in a systematic and transparent manner, he said asking the opposition leaders not to create needless confusion and doubts in the minds of the people.
He, however, admitted that there was a shortage of vaccines not only in Karnataka but across the country. The state government is making every effort to procure the necessary vaccines from multiple sources and the available vaccines are administered to the eligible people on a priority basis, he said.
Senior artistes Honnavalli Krishna, Meese Anjanappa, Umesh Hegde, DingriNagaraj, Sithara and Bharat Gowda Charitable Trust’s Bharat Gowda, actors Ganesh Rao Kesarkar and Kempegowda had arranged the food kits.
The deputy chief minister symbolically distributed food kits to 30 artistes and the pending 200 kits will be supplied to the artistes at their residences, Bharat Gowda said.