Bengaluru/Hubballi: The din for a separate for North Karnataka has again come to the fore with a forum of farmers and students organisation calling for a bandh on August 2.
The forum called Uttara Karnataka Pratyeka Rajya Horata Samiti called for a bandh demanding separate statehood for the Northern part of Karnataka. The leader of the forum Somashekhar Kotambari told media in Hubballi that the bandh would be observed in all the 13 districts of North Karnataka.
The leaders from the region had voiced their concern over the lack of provisions for the region in Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s recent budget. This is believed to have triggered the bandh call.
Kotambari alleged that all the political parties had neglected the region for seven decades. “Governments have failed to develop the region despite its rich natural resources. The problem of unemployment and poverty are unsolved,” he added.
He said that Belagavi’s Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, constructed to focus government efforts to develop North Karnataka, had been a monumental failure. “You cannot find any government office at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha,” he added.
President of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha Basavaraj alleged that North Karnataka region was denied the benefits of major irrigation projects in the state. “All the development works related to irrigation are concentrated in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Ramanagara, Mandya, Hassan and other southern districts. North Karnataka is struggling to complete the Mahadayi project for many years,” he said.
Reports said that some BJP and Congress leaders were providing veiled support to the protest. It may be recalled that at a rally in Channapatna last week, Kumaraswamy had criticised BJP leaders for demanding separate statehood for North Karnataka.
