Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge, along with Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, KKRDB Chairman Ajay Singh, and others, addressing a media conference in Kalaburagi on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister and district in-charge Priyank Kharge has said that the mega job fair scheduled to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the presence of Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge here on Wednesday aims to provide one lakh jobs.

Speaking at a press conference at the Police Commissioner’s office on Tuesday after visiting the job fair venue at KCT College Grounds and taking stock of the preparations, Mr. Kharge said that over 22,000 candidates have already registered for the event and 280 companies are participating.

“Candidates will be selected based on their educational qualifications, with appointment letters issued on the spot. The fair will also include applicants registered under the Yuva Nidhi scheme, with around 75,000 candidates from the region invited. Similar job fairs are planned for Mysuru and Belagavi divisions,” Mr. Kharge said.

Mr. Kharge added that the Chief Minister and the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha will inaugurate two health facilities – a super-specialty hospital built at a cost of ₹216.53 crore and a brachytherapy radiation unit built at a cost of ₹6.20 crore on the premises of the Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS).

“Apart from the inauguration of the healthcare facilities, foundation stones will be laid for a 200-bed mother and child hospital (₹92 crore), a 150-bed Indira Gandhi Children Hospital (₹92 crore), a 210-bed cancer hospital (₹76 crore), a multi-skill development centre (₹50.61 crore), an allied health sciences college (₹49.50 crore), an Arogya Bhavan (₹28 crore), an ITI college (₹20 crore) and a new auditorium at the Government Degree College (₹13.20 crore),” Mr. Kharge said.

Meanwhile, Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB) chairman Ajay Singh said that 25% of the board’s funds will be mandatorily allocated to educational development.

Drug menace

Commending the Kalaburagi Police for their decisive move to curb drug menace, Mr. Kharge lauded the Police Department’s proactive role in raising public awareness and tackling the issue head-on.

“Compared to last year, the Kalaburagi Police Commissionerate has intensified its efforts to bring drug menace under control, with continuous raids leading to significant seizures of narcotics, including ganja and Schedule H drugs, alongside legal action against peddlers and buyers. In 2024, the police registered 58 cases, arrested 59 accused and seized 20 kg of ganja. This year, however, has seen a sharp rise in enforcement with 172 cases registered, 176 arrests made, 100 kg of ganja and 776 kg of Schedule H drugs confiscated. The total value of seized substances is estimated at ₹23 lakh,” Mr. Kharge said and added that the State government planned to launch widespread awareness campaigns, including programmes in schools, colleges and universities, followed by public outreach initiatives to protect youth, especially students, from the drug menace.

On the other development initiatives, Mr. Kharge announced plans to fill vacant teacher posts in the Kalyana Karnataka region, starting with 5,520 primary school teacher posts. He added that plans to develop 23 parks, including Appana Kere, under the municipal corporation, are also in the pipeline.

Earlier, nine vehicles procured at a cost of ₹1.12 crore provided by the KKRDB were handed over to the Kalaburagi City Police.

Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil attended.

Legislators Allamaprabhu Patil, Kaneez Fatima, Jagadev Guttedar, Deputy Commissioner Fauzia Tarannum, Police Commissioner Sharappa S.D., Zilla Panchayat CEO Bhanwar Singh Meena, Municipal Commissioner Avinash Shinde and others were present.