Over two hundred persons were taken under preventive custody by the police while they were heading towards Suvarna Vidhana Soudha to picket the venue of the ongoing winter session of the legislature here on Tuesday.
Under the banner of “Taluka Horata Samithi”, these people had come together from different parts of the state and wanted to picket SVS to protest against the delay on the part of the State government to create 43 new taluks as announced by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government headed by former chief minister Jagadish Shettar in February 2013.
They were picked up even before they arrived near SVS and released later in the afternoon.
ADVERTISEMENT
The new taluks announced were Guledgud, Rabakavi-Banahatti, Ilkal (Bagalkot district); Nippani, Moodalgi and Kagawad (Belagavi); Hanur (Chamarajanagar); Nyamathi (Davangere); Chitaguppa, Hulsur and Kamalanagar (Bidar); Kurugod, Kottur and Kampli (Ballari); Annigeri, Alnavara and Hubballi city (Dharwad); Gajendragad and Lakshmeshwar (Gadag); Kalagi, Hunasagi, Kamalapur, Yadravi, Shahbad, Vadagera and Gurmitkal (Kalaburgi and Yadgir); Kuknur, Kanakagiri and Karatagi (Koppal); Maski and Sirvar (Raichur); Brahmavar and Byndoor (Udupi); Moodbidri and Kadaba (Dakshina Kannada); Yelahanka (Bengaluru Urban); Bableshwar, Nidagundi, Tikota, Devarahipparagi, Talikote, Chadachana and Kolhar (Vijayapura).
The protesters demanded the present Siddaramaiah government implement the decision and ensure that all the new taluks came into existence at the earliest and provided additional funds for their expeditious development and progress.