Umashree, Minister of State for Kannada and Culture, said on Monday that some modifications can be brought into the traditional folk sport of Kamabala rather than banning it.
The Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences had banned Kambala in Udupi district on November 15 and in Dakshina Kannada district on November 21, following objections by the Animal Welfare Board of India.
Kambala is popular rural folk sport in Tulunadu, which comprises Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts and Kasaragod district of Kerala.
Speaking to presspersons here, Ms. Umashree said that the legislators and Ministers of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada district have already opposed the ban.
Kambala, has been held in the region for centuries. The other Ministers also are against the ban. “Kambala is both a folk art and a folk sport. Hence a ban on it is not right. Some modifications can be brought to Kambala,” she said.
Nada GeetheMs. Umashree said that the committee, set up to reduce the time of Nada Geethe written by the late poet Kuvempu, had given its recommendations. It had written about the time to render the full version of Nada Geethe and also its abridged version. She had brought the recommendations of the committee of the notice of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
While the committee had given its recommendations, the government had not taken any decision on it. “We will take a decision not just on basis of the recommendations of the committee but also collect people’s opinion. We will take a decision taking into the account everyone’s sentiments,” she said.
On the delay in tracing 13-year-old Eshika Shetty, who went missing from the Sharada Residential School in Udupi on November 15, Ms. Umashree said that the matter was sensitive. The Superintendent of Police of Udupi district was supervising the case. “The police are yet to get any clues. I am sure the police will crack the case,” she said.
