The fifteenth Uttara Kannada district sahitya sammelan would be held in Kumta on March 27 and 28, said Rohidas Naik, president of Uttar Kannada district Kannada Sahitya Parishat. He was addressing presspersons in Karwar on Thursday.
Mr. Naik said that a mammoth dais would be named after the late B.R. Pandeshwar, a noted poet and journalist of Uttara Kannada. The ground where the sammelan would be held was named after B.M. Pai.
Mr. Naik said that Kumta MLA Dinakar Shetty would be the chairman of Welcome Committee. District in-charge minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Minister for Fisheries Anand Asnotikar, zilla panchayat president L.V. Shanbhag and all MLAs of the district would participate in the sammelan, he said.
Secular outlook
He said that the parishat was a non-political and secular organisation. People belonging to all communities, castes and different ideologies were given a chance to participate in different programmes of the sammelan, he said.
Mr. Naik said he would not support the attempts of bifurcation of Uttara Kannada district by some politicians such as Mr. Kageri who were trying to divide it as an up-ghat district and coastal district.
Mr. Naik said, “Karwar should remain district headquarters of Uttara Kannada else we will lose Karwar to Goa.” Kannada, Konkani and Marathi speaking people lived like brothers in Karwar and surrounding areas and any attempt by the politicians to divide Uttara Kannada district into two would have adverse impact on the unity of Karnataka, he said.
Rama Naik, president of Karwar taluk Kannada sahitya parishat, and poet B.A. Sanadi were present.
