Kannada activists warn of bandh

Kannada activists warn of bandh

August 2nd, 2009
By Our Correspondent

Bengaluru
Aug 1: Activists of various pro-Kannada organisations including Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike ( Praveen Shetty group) and Kannada Sene have threatened to call for a Bengaluru bandh on August 9.
On Saturday, these activists staged a protest in front of Raj Bhavan to oppose the unveiling of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar’s statue in the city on August 9. Around 60 activists courted arrest and were later released.
Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj said there are several pending issues between the two states like the Hogenekkal drinking water project and the Cauvery water dispute. Unless these issues are resolved, there is no point in unveiling the Thiruvalluvar statue, he asserted.
“There are chances of people going on the rampage over the Cauvery and Hogenakkal issues and creating unnecessary trouble by damaging or desecrating the statues in both states. Let them not install Kannada poet Sarvajna’s statue in Chennai either,” asserted Mr Nagaraj. The desecration, if it happened, would hurt the sentiments of people in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and lead to an unsavoury situation he said adding that it would be better to let the statue remain covered till other issues are amicably settled. The Bengaluru bandh will be called off if the move to unveil the statues is dropped, he said.
Meanwhile, Kannada Development Authority (KDA) chairman Mukhyamantri Chandru urged Kannada leaders to co-operate in the unveiling of the Thiruvalluvar statue.
The statues in Bengaluru and Chennai will help build a healthy relationship between people of both states, he said. He felt there was no point in opposing the unveiling of the statue in Bengaluru when Tamil Nadu is ready to unveil the statue of Sarvajna in Chennai.