Political parties should resolve Yettinahole issue: Halambi

The issue dominates at Kannada Sahitya Parishat centenary.

Pundalika Halambi, president of State unit of Kannada Sahitya Parishat speaking at the inaugural function of the organisation’s two-day centenary celebrations at Nagoor in Udupi district on Thursday.

Pundalika Halambi, president of the State unit of Kannada Sahitya Parishat said on Thursday that political parties should jointly evolve a solution to the Yettinahole project problems.

He was speaking at the inaugural function of the two-day centenary celebrations of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat organised by the Udupi district unit of the KSP, here.

Mr. Halambi said the implementation of the project without taking the people into confidence had created a conflict between farmers of Bayaluseeme (plains) and Coastal regions of the State. It was necessary to explain all the issues in a scientific manner. He said politicians were giving confusing and often contradictory statements, and didn’t seem to interested in solving the issue.

Freedom of expression

Mr. Halambi said freedom of expression was under threat as scholars, such as M.M. Kalburgi, were killed just because some people did not like their opinions. There should be free exchange of opinions. Killing people for expressing their opinions was unacceptable, he said.

Stating that the KSP was dissatisfied with the government’s approach on promoting Kannada, he said the Parishath had been demanding that Kannada should be taught compulsorily from classes one to five. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should take action on this matter.

Inaugurating the celebrations, U.P. Upadhyaya, scholar and researcher, said that the KSP should promote children’s literature in Kannada. It should also translate works of great writers including Kuvempu and Kota Shivaram Karanth to English so that they could get wider recognition, he said.

Neelavar Surendra Adiga, President of district unit of KSP, Harikrishna Punaroor, former president of State unit, Narayana Kharvi, president of Kundapur taluk unit and others were present.

‘Need for dictionary’

Mangaluru Special Correspondent reports:

At the centenary celebrations of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat in Mangaluru, A.V. Navada, Kannada scholar, said the Netravati diversion or the Yettinahole diversion issue should be taken up seriously. There is a need to publish Kannada-English dictionary and to record the ‘sahitya charitre’ of the district.