Hubballi: Discordant voices surfaced on the eve of a bandh called by various organizations on Thursday to protest against the neglect of north Karnataka and press for a separate statehood for the region.
Unrelenting from its aggressive posture, leaders of Uttar Karnataka Raitha Sangh claimed they would observe the bandh across 13 districts. President of the Sangh, Mr Basavaraj Karigar claimed that he received a positive response from 23 organisations for the bandh call. Several organizations, however, asserted that they have withdrawn support for the bandh as they were satisfied with assurances handed out by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.
Meanwhile, members of few organisations staged a protest in Haveri to express their support for the bandh on Wednesday. Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Mr Karigar said his organisation has called for bandh and there was no question of withdrawing the call. Stating that separate statehood would be the sole solution for overall development of the region, he said many demands of the region have remained unfulfilled for several decades. "There is no doubt about success of the bandh tomorrow in all 13 districts of north Karnataka. People should not pay heed to rumours that bandh is withdrawn and those who are opposing the bandh are not interested about growth of the region. We will ensure that all business establishments and transport system will be shut as we will block traffic at many places in a peaceful manner", he adde.d
On the other hand, Uttara Karnataka Horata Samiti president Bhimappa Gadad claimed that his organization has withdrawn the bandh call after plea made by seers during protest in front of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi on Tuesday. He said that he would wait for one month following an assurance by the Chief Minister to shift offices of three departments to the new legislature building and make Belagavi the second capital of the state. "Suvarna Vidhana Soudha was built when Mr Kumaraswamy was Chief Minister more than a decade ago. Now, Shifting of only three departments here is not enough. We hope that he will shift several major departments including Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd and Cane Development and Director of Sugar. It is not good to go ahead with the bandh when he has given assurance. We should give some time for fulfilling our demands", Mr Bhimappa Gadad added.
