Udupi: The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike staged protest in response to the Karnataka Bandh at the Clock Tower, near Service Bus Stand here at around 10.20 am on June 12.
The statewide bandh was called regarding waiver of farmers’ loans, starting of Mahadayi and Mekedatu projects immediately, Kerala government’s “anti Kannada” policies and sand crisis in Coastal Karnataka.
Addressing the protesters at Udupi, Ansar Ahmed, President of Karnatka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), Udupi District said that District In-charge Minister Pramod Madhwaraj had failed to solve the sand crisis in Udupi district. He held both district administration and the minister responsible for the sand shortage issue affecting the district at large.
Prasannakumar Shetty, State Convener of KRV said that there was a mixed response to bandh call given by KRV and other Kannada organisations. However, KRV will not keep quiet but continue to fight for in favour of Kannada language, he added.” Maharastra Ekikarana Samiti has been continuously attacking Kannada activists. Our demand is to ban the activities of MES in Belagavi and other places in Karnataka by the state as well as central government. The state government has to assert its rights and execute projects like Mekedatu and Mahadayi projects as soon as possible”, he said.
Prasannhakumar Shetty also blamed district in-charge minister for sand shortage in the district and warned of holding district bandh if the crisis was not solved within a month.
He said that in Karnataka all are given freedom to live as they want and not compelled to speak in Kannada only. He demanded that the Kerala Government rolled back the policy of compulsory imposition of Malayalam on Kannadigas. He warned that if Malayalm is made compulsory in Kerala, all Malayalis in Karnataka will be driven back to Kerala.
Maraligagi Horata Samiti Convener M G Nagendra also spoke on the occasion.
The protesters wanted to symbolically block the highway but timely intervention by a police team led by SI Ananthapadmanabha of Town Police Station stopped them.
There was no impact of bandh call by the Kannada organisations in the city. Very few KRV activists participated in the protest. Heavy rainfall is assumed to be the cause of less attendance.
