Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Speaker U.T. Khader and Chairman of the Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti, Minister H.K. Patil and others taking part in the Kannada Ratha procession in Gadag on Friday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Gadag on Friday witnessed a repeat of the grand spectacle of 1973, when on the occasion of renaming of the State, the ‘Karnataka Jyoti’ from Hampi was received by then Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs and a grand procession and public meeting was organised.
On Friday, in a ‘replay’ of the 1973 event, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah arrived at Veeranarayan Temple in Gadag to receive the ‘Karnataka Jyoti’ from Hampi, took darshan of the deity before boarding the embellished chariot.
Along with Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Speaker U.T. Khader and Chairman of the Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti, Minister H.K. Patil and several of his Cabinet colleagues, the CM was taken in a procession from the temple to Bhoomaraddi Circle where he unveiled the monolithic pillar installed commemorating the silver jubilee of renaming of the State as Karnataka.
As thousands of people waved the Kannada flags all along the procession route, women led the chariot carrying the ‘kalashas’. The procession covered the thoroughfares of the city where people showered flower petals on the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues.
Along the route, buntings adorned either side of the road and colourful rangolis welcomed the participants. As many as 25 folk troupes from across the State added colour to the procession through their exuberant performances. Tableuax on Sabarmati Ashram and Brahma Jinalay of Lakkundi threw light on the lost glory. Thousands of students from schools and colleges along with women participated in the procession.
Cotton Sale Society
At Cotton Sale Society premises, a huge stage was set up and named after D. Devaraj Urs and K.H. Patil, who were part of the 1973 celebrations. As thousands of people had arrived to witness the event, the police had a tough time streamlining the traffic throughout the day.
Elaborating on the contribution of Gadag to the unification movement and renaming, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Minister H.K. Patil urged the CM to come up with a project to provide shelter to all the homeless in Gadag district and stressed upon the need for tourism development in the district.
Minister for Kannada and Culture Shivaraj Tangadagi, Mr. Khader and Mr. Horatti termed the event a historic one and stressed on the need to learn from history.
Later in the day, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurated the 450-bed hospital and cathlab on the district hospital premises in Gadag and laid the foundation stone for the construction of Study School building at the Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University.
