After poll drubbing, Kumaraswamy to resume village stay programme

Days after the JD(S) was decimated in the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Sunday announced that he will resume his "Grama Vastavya" (village stay) programme to find out the challenges facing the state's rural areas.

Kumaraswamy had initiated the programme to interact with villagers during his previous tenure as chief minister, which lasted from February 2006 to October 2007.

"'Grama Vastavya' is a way to reach out to the people, to understand their problems and to know the functioning of the government. Soon 'Grama Vastavya' is going to start in government schools," Kumaraswamy said in a tweet.

During his previous stint, Kumaraswamy used to spend the nights at villagers' houses as part of the initiative.

This time, however, he has decided to stay in government schools.

"During his previous term as chief minister, Kumaraswamy had conducted 47 'Grama Vastavyas'. He had stayed in 47 houses. This time he has decided to stay in government schools," an official associated with the Chief Minister's Office said.

The idea behind staying in government schools is to improve the conditions there, he said.

Officers will ensure that the rooms, desks, benches and other school infrastructure are in good shape, he added.

The modalities are being worked out and the details of the programme will soon be made public, the officer said.

Most likely, the chief minister will kick-start the village stay programme from Kodagu district, which has still not fully recovered from last year's devastating floods.