State govt. will consider demand for creation of Kadamba Kannada district, says Minister

It will benefit the people, according to Shivaraj Tangadagi

The State government will seriously consider the long-pending demand for division of Uttara Kannada, Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi said in Belagavi on Monday.

A smaller district will be created for the benefit of the people. They will not have to travel long distances for getting their work done in government offices. It will also help officers keep a close watch on various schemes and programmes, the Minister said.

He was responding to a memorandum by the Kadamba Kannada District Agitation Committee near the Suvarna Soudha.

Mr. Tangadagi, MLAs Shivaram Hebbar, N.H. Konaraddi and Bheemanna Nayak visited the members of the committee at the protest site.

“That there is a demand for the creation of a new district by dividing the Uttara Kannada has come to our notice. I will speak to the Chief Minister and Revenue Minister and urge them to take up the matter on priority,” he said.

He said that he was instructed by the Chief Minister to meet the protestors and receive their memorandum.

Mr. Hebbar said that Uttara Kannada was bigger in area than Belagavi district and it needs to be divided to ensure smooth administration.

He said that he will raise the issue in the Assembly. “We understand that this demand cannot be fulfilled in a day or two. But we have been agitating for decades. We also need to create awareness about this issue among the intelligentsia, writers, activists, students and the general public and create a favourable sentiment for it,” he said.

Mr. Nayak said that he will raise the issue in the Assembly. He urged all the MLAs of the district to put up a common demand for the division of the district into a hill district and a coastal district. He also demanded the creation of new taluks like Banavasi and Gokarna.

Committee leaders Ananthamurthy Hegde said that they will organise signature campaigns, rath yatras and padayatras in Uttara Kannada. He observed that activists from Sirsi, Siddapur, Mundgod, Banavasi, Yellapur, Dandeli, Haliyal participated in the protest.

Other leaders S. Fakirappa Mundgod, Jayasheela Gowda, Chidananda Harijan, Manjunath Patil, Halappa Jakkannavaar, Anil Nayak, Anil Kari, Kiran, Salma Mundgod, Ranganna Dasanakoppa, Virendra Gowda and others were present.

Published - December 16, 2024 09:40 pm IST