Bellary readies for Hampi Utsava

Source: Times of India

BELLARY: Tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy said here on Friday that a committee meeting would be convened in the second week of December to chalk out plans for the Hampi Utsava. The festival is scheduled for January 27, 28 and 29. Primary health care centres in Kampli, Rupangudi and Moka villages would be upgraded to 30 bed hospitals and tenders will be invited for the same. "This is to overcome the shortage of primary health care centres in the district," Reddy said.

The tennis court in Bellary gymkhana would be upgraded to international levels.

Replying to a query about leadership change in the state government, he said it was left to the party's national leaders to decide. "We are ready to follow any decision taken by the party high command," he added.

Asked about damage to the party's image due to recent political developments in the state, he said, the election results of the local body which will come shortly would be the perfect yardstick as an answer, Reddy added.

Industries to invest over Rs. 15,000 cr. in Gulbarga

 Source: The Hindu

Zawar, Rajashree, Lafarge among those planning to set up cement plants in the district
New projects expected to provide employment to many in the region

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— File photo

Big plans:Vasavadatta Cement in Sedam taluk of Gulbarga district is one of the many companies seeking to expand existing plants. GULBARGA: Gulbarga district looks set to divest its tag as an industrially backward district with the setting up of at least 12 new industries and the expansion of existing cement plants, at a combined investment of Rs. 15,063 crore.
Official sources told The Hindu here on Sunday that apart from the memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed during the Global Investors Meet in June this year, a few more industries have applied for licences to set up units in the district. They have also sought infrastructure facilities, including land, for the proposed projects.
Among the existing cement plants that have sought permission to expand their capacities are Zawar Cement Pvt. Ltd. in the industrial township of Shahabad and Rajashree Cement at Malkhed in Sedam taluk of Gulbarga district.
The Zawar plant has sought permission to increase the installed capacity of its Shahabad plant to 6 million tonnes per annum (MPTA) from the existing 0.5 MTPA, and to install a captive power generation plant of 70 MW. The company has also sought to convert the existing wet process technology to dry process technology at a cost of Rs. 3,180 crore.
Sources said the project would provide employment to an additional 4,050 persons, apart from its existing workforce of 570.
Meanwhile, the capacity of the Rajashree Cement plant would be enhanced from 4.2 MTPA to 8.45 MTPA, with a captive power generation plant of 185.5 MW also being installed. The total investment for this would be Rs. 3,000 crore.
While Zawar has sought an additional 472.18 acres for their expansion activities, Rajashree has sought 971.38 acres of land.
Besides, Lafarge India Pvt. Ltd. has decided to establish a cement plant with an initial capacity of 3 MPTA, and a 43-MW coal-based thermal plant to meet its power requirement in Chitapur taluk of Gulbarga district, at a cost of Rs. 1,500 crore. This unit will provide employment to 355 people.
The company has sought 601.12 acres of land for setting up the unit.
India Cements too has decided to establish a cement plant with an initial capacity of 2 MTPA, and a 60-MW thermal power plant at a cost of Rs. 850 crore in Chincholi taluk of the district. The company has been permitted to acquire 1,263.45 acres of land directly from the farmers for the project.
Shree Cements has decided establish a 3-MTPA cement plant at Sedam taluk, with a 35-MW captive power plant at a cost of Rs. 1,000 crore.
Vasavadatta Cement in Sedam taluk has been permitted to take up expansion of its existing plant at a cost of Rs. 800 crore. Orient Cement too have expressed interest in establishing a unit in Chitapur taluk at a cost of Rs. 700 crore.
Besides, several entrepreneurs have proposed to establish other industries.

Kingfisher may fly from Belgaum next month

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/11/27/stories/2010112752241900.htm


Kingfisher Airlines is likely to commence flights from Belgaum city in December.
An assurance to this effect was given to a trade delegation led by Mr Jaideep Siddannavar, president, Belgaum Chamber of Commerce and Industries, when it met Union Civil Aviation Minister Mr Praful Patel and Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Mr Vijay Mallya in New Delhi.
The Chamber had approached both the Central and State governments for early resumption of flights from Sambra airport in Belgaum.
According to Mr Siddannavar, Mr Mallya has promised to introduce commercial flights from December 15. Kingfisher Airlines plans to connect Belgaum to Bangalore, Mumbai and Mysore.
Mr Basavaraj S. Javali, vice-president of the Chamber, said the trade delegation from Belgaum met Union Minister of State for Finance Mr Palani Manikkam in New Delhi and submitted a pre-budget memorandum. Later, it met Union Labour Minister Mr Mallikarjun Kharge and briefed him on the problems faced by traders and industrialists in Belgaum. The team also discussed issues relating to ESI and PPF.
The delegation met Union Commerce Minister Mr Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Environment and Forests Mr Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Mr Vilas Rao Deshmukh and Union Railway Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee.

Integrated textile park in Gulbarga to be ready soon

 
Source: The Hindu

Discussing strategy:(From left) Mukta Nidhi Samnotra, Director, Ministry of Textiles; V. Srinivas, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles; and A.B. Joshi, Textile Commissioner; at a road show inBangalore on Friday.
Bangalore: The integrated textile park at Gulbarga “will soon be a reality”, a top official of the Union Ministry of Textiles said on Friday. Participating in a road show for the new Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (SITP), Textile Commissioner A.B. Joshi said the park in Gulbarga was “at an advanced stage of development.” Officials in the Textile Ministry said similar parks were being considered at Shimoga, Tunkur and Bellary.
Mr. Joshi said Karnataka, which has a “strong and vibrant weaving tradition, had taken the initiative in promoting textiles”. He said apart from the garment-manufacturing cluster in Doddaballapur, a power loom cluster was also emerging in the State.
The new SITP scheme, which was launched recently, is aimed at providing a fillip to the industry so that it retains its global competitiveness, Mr. Joshi said. “The Technology Upgradation Fund (TUF), which has been in ‘ pause mode,' is likely to be resumed soon,” he remarked.
The Indian textile industry is the largest in the world in terms of loomage, Mr. Joshi pointed out. He said spun yarn output in the current year increased by 7.3 year over the previous year, and that cloth production increased by 2.1 per cent.
V. Srinivas, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, said the SITP, initiated in Public-Private Partnership mode, would enjoy Government support to the extent of 40 per cent of the project cost with a limit of Rs. 40 crore. The subsidy would not be available for land acquisition. The integrated parks would have facilities for cotton processing, ginning, weaving, fabric processing, garmenting and made-ups, Mr. Srinivas said.
Mukta Nidhi Samnotra, Director, Ministry of Textiles, participated in the road show.

Nabard prepares Rs 1,597-cr credit plan for Dharwad

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/11/26/stories/2010112652191900.htm


The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has prepared Rs 1,596.68-crore potential linked credit plan (PLPs) for Dharwad district for the financial year (FY) 2011-12.
Unveiling the Dharwad district credit plan at the DCC meet, Mr Y.N. Mahadevaiah, Nabard- AGM, said “Of the total credit plan amount, Rs 829.20 crore is set aside for investment under agriculture and allied activities, for non-farm sector Rs 146.52 crore, and for other priority sector Rs 620.96 crore.”
According to the district's potential linked credit plan (PLPs) for the FY 2011-12, Nabard has identified the potential for setting up rural godowns and market yards under centrally sponsored schemes of rural godowns, and also to strengthen agriculture marketing infrastructure. “Banks in the district have disbursed only Rs 1 crore. As for the rural godowns and market yard infrastructure in Dharwad district, there are 11 godowns having a capacity of 7,900 tonnes. Whereas neighbouring districts such as Koppal, Raichur and Bellary have already spent and created huge capacities. Compared to those districts, Dharwad has negligible infrastructure,” he added. Mr Mahadevaiah said that there are 22 nationalised, RRBs and co-operative banks having 257 branches. Definitely, the banks can take up funding of rural godowns and market yards to the extent of Rs 53.70 crore in the financial year 2011-12.
At the DCC meet, the Reserve Bank of India Manager Mr R Ramachandran, Vijaya Bank's AGM Mr B.A. Tata, Lead district bank manager Mr Basavarajaiah and representatives of Dharwad Zilla Panchayat were present.
The DCC meet discussed broad sector-wise PLP projections for FY 2011-12 and is as follows: For crop production, Rs 632.82 crore is planned.
Activities to be taken up under this are water resources, land development, farm mechanisation, plantation, horticulture and sericulture, dairy and storage godowns and market yard.

Source: Times of india

BELGAUM: Prof H Maheshappa, vice-chancellor of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) said the State government has sanctioned a grant of Rs 2 crore to the university, for the overall development of Kannada.

He was speaking after felicitating the three Karnataka Rajyotsava awardees from Belgaum district -- Dr R B Nerli (medical), Sangamesh Savadattimath (literature and research) and Malabai Sambrekar (folk), on behalf of the VTU at Jnana Sangam campus here on Tuesday.

Maheshappa said the grants will be utilized to translate technology-related books into Kannada to take knowledge to the doorsteps of the common people. Besides this, a separate publication wing and Kannada experimental wing will be established at VTU, to organize cultural programmes, he said.

Pradhan Gurudatt, president of Kuvempu Bhasha Bharati Authority (KBBA) praised the efforts of VTU.

President of the district Kannada Sahitya Academy (KSA)Basavaraj Jagajampi, VTU books publication committee head C K Subbarai were present.

Mudhol hound exhibition today - 25th Nov 2010

Source: Times of India

BAGALKOT: North Karnataka, famous for the hunting Mudhol hound dog, has organized an exhibition at Mudhol on Thursday. More than 750 dogs are expected to participate in this unique exhibition.

The exhibition has been jointly organized by the animal husbandry department, Veterinary Science and Fishery University of Bidar, Dog Research Centre, Timmapur, at the Ranna Stadium in Mudhol.

The selected 124 Mudhol hound dogs will be eligible to participate in the International Dog Exhibition scheduled to be held on December 8 at Chennai.

Dr Manjunath S Palegar, deputy director of animal husbandry, told The Times of India that various breeds of dogs from Belgaum, Dharwad, Bagalkot and Bijapur districts will participate in the exhibition, which will be conducted in separate age group divisions -- 7 to 12 months, 13 to 24 months and above 25 months. Apart from the exhibition, medicines, milk, egg and anti-disease vaccines will be distributed to the dog owners during the exhibition. Finally, 24 dogs will be selected for the prize, along with an extra 100 dogs which will be selected for their eligibility to participate in the international contest at Chennai. All participating dogs will be given a certificate which will make this breed become popular at the international level. An Australian team will inspect the dog breed for this purpose, he said.

The Mudhol hound is famous for hunting and is the only breed which is known internationally. A research centre was recently established at Timmapur village in Mudhol taluk and Rs 5 crore sanctioned, to develop this breed.

It may be noted that there is a huge worldwide demand for the Mudhol hound, and it is bound to increase in future.

District in charge minister Govind Karjol will inaugurate the exhibition, while animal husbandry minister Revu Naik Belamagi will release the souvenir. Bidar Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science University vice-chancellor Dr Suresh Honnappagol will preside.

SDM College to celebrate 30th year with a bang

Source: Times of India

DHARWAD: The SDM Utsav-2010 to be hosted by SDM College of Engineering and Technology in Dharwad on November 25 and 26, promises to be a cultural treat for the connoisseurs. SDM Education Society secretary Jinendra Prasad said the mega event is to mark the 30th anniversary of SDM College of Engineering and Technology.

Danceuse Nirupama Rajendran, noted playback singer Kunal Ganjawala, dancers from Orissa and Rajasthan, besides local artistes will enthral the audience. An air show, technical exhibition, robotic competition and religious discourse by Swamy Sukhabodhananda add to the attractions. Business tycoon Captain Gopinath will be there to inspire the students with his pep talk.

AICTE chairman S S Mantha will inaugurate the event on Thursday and water resources minister Basavaraj Bommai will inaugurate the air show. Director of NAL A R Upadhya will declare open the technical exhibition.

Swamy Sukhabodhanand will deliver a discourse at 6 pm, followed by Nirupama Rajendran's dance.

On November 26, VTU VC H Maheshappa will inaugurate the robotic competition and Captain Gopinath will deliver the key-note address. SDME Society president D Veerendra Heggade will preside.

Kunal Ganjawala's concert will be followed by an attractive fire cracker show. Special arrangements have been made for the schoolchildren to visit the exhibition and also participate in the air show.

A runway has been laid at the college grounds and a demo on unmanned aerial vehicles will also be held

State to get 2 innovative varsities - The legislation aims to turn the University of Mysore and Karnatak University (Dharwad) into model universities for excellence in the state.

BANGALORE: One university with two systems of governance, freedom for students to switch from one subject to another, flexi working hours and research project for every faculty, an induction programme with free classes on life/soft skills for every enrolled student and twinning programmes with foreign and other Indian universities.

All these radical changes are part of the landmark legislation __ Karnataka State Innovative Universities Bill, 2010 __ that will be placed before the cabinet for approval on Thursday. The legislation aims to turn the University of Mysore and Karnatak University (Dharwad) into model universities for excellence in the state.

Under the proposed bill, the two universities will have a new system of governance. The position of chancellor, vice-chancellor, registrar and syndicate will be done away with. These universities will be governed by a visitor, who will be an eminent scholar or professional; a president chosen among distinguished academics with capacities for managing large educational organisations and two directors __ one to deal with research and post-graduate education and other to handle affiliated and autonomous colleges.

"The proposed bill is based on a recommendation made by the Karnataka Knowledge Commission (KKC). The idea is to exclude the two universities from the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2000 and have a separate legislation to promote excellence. I have discussed the bill with law minister and we will seek cabinet approval on Thursday," higher education minister V S Acharya told TOI.

In addition to UG programmes, every school of the university will offer an integrated PG and integrated PhD programme. Choice-based credit system will be offered to students to enable them to acquire credits from different clusters. Students will be allowed to move from one subject to another area, subject to certain conditions, within the purview of the school.

Every faculty will be asked to take up at least one research project and will have flexi working hours for consultancy and participation in extension services. The research carried out by the university will be published through an exclusive press to be set up on the lines of the Oxford University.

Schools of management, social sciences and humanities will have at least one international programme and the two universities will be allowed to twinning programmes in collaboration with Indian and foreign universities.

The Union HRD ministry is planning to set up 14 innovation universities across the country including one in Mysore.

HOW UNIVERSITY WILL BE GOVERNED

* There will be two directors (similar to the current vice-chancellors). An eminent academic will look after research and PG education, while another director will be in charge of affiliated and autonomous colleges. The term will be for 5 years

* University court: Advisory body with members from IIM-B, IISc, IIIT-B, ISEC and CII

* University ombudsman: Three-member body of retired professionals/scholars with members of integrity and scholarship. Will receive complaints, address grievances and facilitate good governance

* Manager: Will replace the existing registrars. Will be an expert from administrative and management background

* Board of Governors: Will replace syndicate. Will have members from civil society, professionals and industry

[Belagavi] Centre approves 3 over bridges

Source: All about Belgaum

This could be some good news for Belgaumites, not that all would change in a flash, but the traffic woes at major rail crossings in city could be averted as the Central government has given its primary approval for building of THREE over bridges over railway crossings in the city.
Three places approved are :
Old PB Road
Kapileshwar Road
Congress road
A Bhubneshwar based company has done the primary survey and submitted its report. The centre will bear 90% of the cost and the state will have to shell the remaining.
This is god news no doubt but this will take a lot of time and the project to be implemented in real terms could even take upto 2 years.
Source: Pudhari and inputs

NEKRTC making profits: Ashok

Source: The Hindu

Bidar: The North-East Karnataka Transport Corporation, which had incurred since it was set up, has begun making profit, Minister for Transport and Home R. Ashok said on Thursday at Humnabad.
“Last year, the corporation made a profit of Rs. 9.01 crore. This year, we are expecting a profit of about Rs. 18 crore,” Minister said, after inaugurating the renovated bus-stand there.
He said that the NEKRTC would focus on connecting villages to taluk and district headquarters.

Statewide International Film Festival 2010 between November 8-14

Source: http://www.mybangalore.com/article/1110/statewide-international-film-festival-2010-between-november-8-14.html

The Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy (KCA) is launching its first statewide international film festival this month. This will be on from November 8-14 across Bangalore, Shimoga, Dharwad, Bidar and Mangalore.

The Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy (KCA), in collaboration with the Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) is launching its first statewide international film festival in November with ambitious plans to expand it to all the districts of Karnataka in the coming years. 

The festival will screen movies like, The Bicycle Thieves, an Italian film directed  by Vittorio de Sica, A butterfly in the wind, a film made in Iran by director Abbas Rafaei, I can't live without you, a film made by Taiwanese director, Leon Dai. Get the entire schedule of all the films at all venues on the KCA website.

Dates and Cities

Bangalore on November 8, Malleswaram, Sucharita Film Society, Yavanika

Bidar on November 9 (4 days, 16 films) 

Dharwad on Nov 10 (4 days, 12 films)

Mangalore on Nov 14 (4 days, 12 films) 

Shimoga on Nov 15 (4 days, 16 films)

Announcing the festival on Wednesday, TS Nagabharana, KCA Chairman;  HN Narahari Rao, FFSI director and artistic director of the new festival and Muddu Mohan, state Director of Information said the festival was designed to promote film culture in the remote areas of the state. The festival, planned with a low budget and entirely on DVD format, will include 100 titles from nearly 20 countries. “Many of the films have seen international releases only in the last two or three years and are being screened for the first time in India,” Narahari Rao said. Many films in Indian language, including Kannada, have been selected for the festival.

Apart from Suchitra in Bangalore (Nov 8 – 14, 28 shows), the screenings are being held at Yavanika (Nov 8 – 14, 28 shows), which is the main venue, Malleswaram Seva Sadan (Nov 9 – 12, 16 shows) and Samprati, Malleswaram (Nov 13-15, 12 shows).

Seminars

The festival will see two seminars at Yavanika: on Saturday, Nov 13  (3:00 – 5:30 PM),  ’The Challenges and Opportunities of Film Distribution and Exhibition in the Digital Age’  with director Nagathihalli Chandrashekar, distributor ‘MARS’ Suresh and Jyotsna Pattabiraman of Moovie Shoovie and Sunday, Nov 14 (3:00 – 6:00 PM),’Film Criticism Today’ with Narahari Rao, MK Raghavendra and journalist Sadashiva Shenoy, general secretary, Press Club of Bangalore.

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Entry is through the delegate passes, priced at Rs 200/- (Student concession: Rs.100, on producing ID).

Buy Passes online: Please visit Moovie Shoovie

KCA : Phone 080-2213 3410

Website: http://www.thekca.in/

Email: chalanachitraacademy@gmail.com;

Suchitra: 080-2671 1785

Work on Dharwad-Goa road finally starts

Source: http://sify.com/finance/work-on-dharwad-goa-road-finally-starts-news-news-kliaO8dggea.html



It is official now. The road between Dharwad and Ramnagar that connects Karnataka to Goa and which has been in a very bad condition for decades is being converted into double-lane highway by the state government. On Sunday, public works minister C M Udasi performed the bhoomi pooja for the road construction work at Alnavar in the presence of rural development and panchayat raj minister Jagadeesh Shettar and MP Prahlad Joshi.
The state government has entrusted the works to the Karnataka Road Development Corporation which in turn has given the responsibility to Hyderabad-based GVR-RMN-Pratyusha Companies consortium named GVRMP Dharwad-Ramna-gar Tollway Private Limited. The 61.50 km stretch on the Aurad-Sadashivagad state highway No 34, which has made the journey for those travelling to Goa from Dharwad via Ramnagar a herculean task, will be re-laid for Rs237.60 crore. It will be on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) / viability gap funding (VGF) basis.
The nine-metre-wide road covers 29.9 km in Dharwad district and 31.50 km in Belgaum district before entering Goa. It will pass through three railway crossings, one bridge and 12 culverts. There will be two truck lay base, five under passes and two toll gates. The work is expected to be completed in two years. When completed, it will give a big boost to tourism, trade and commerce in Dharwad, Belgaum and Uttara Kannada districts.
The road has been in a bad shape for decades and any number of petitions and complaints to the authorities had failed to yield results. Those traveling to Goa were forced to take a route via Belgaum and Savantawadi, covering an additional distance of 80 km.
Kannadigas settled in Goa had repeatedly appealed to the legislators and ministers visiting Goa to get the road repaired, but to no avail.
Udasi, being the public works minister for second term, had failed to fulfill the demand. Successive governments had given up the road repair work after conducting ‘bhoomi pooja’, citing financial crunch. Dharwad MP Prahlad Joshi and minister Jagadeesh Shettar’s efforts to get the road included in Central Road Fund during the regime of H D Revanna as public works minister had also not been fruitful.
Now it seems the road is set to be repaired with state government contributing 20 per cent of the cost while the Centre will contribute matching amount. The companies taking up the work on BoT basis will bear 60 per cent of the cost. Th e BoT is for a period of 30 years and the time frame for getting the road ready is two years.

VTU to set up hi-tech valuation centre in Davangere soon

Source: Times of India

DHARWAD: The Visvesvaraya Technological University, which has 186 engineering colleges across the state under its purview will set up a hi-tech valuation centre at Davanagere soon.

The new centre will come up on a sprawling 15-acre land adjoining the national highway near Kunduwad off Davanagere and is allotted to VTU by the Karnatak Housing Board. The centre will be well-equipped with modern facilities like high speed scanner and networking with all the colleges under the VTU.

The use of a high speed scanner will enable quick announcement of results and quick dispatch of marks cards. According to VTU V-C H Maheshappa, nearly 25 lakh answer scripts are evaluated at four centres situated at Bangalore,Mysore, Gulbarga and Belgaum every semester. The examiners will be provided food and accommodation at the valuation centre so that they do not waste time commuting to the centre.

The new centre is expected to be ready in two years, sources said. A teacher's training centre will also be set up on the same campus.

World Kannada Conference at Belgaum in Jan or Feb 2011: CM

Source: http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=88680



Bangalore, Nov 1: The long-delayed World Kannada Conference proposed to be held in the border district of Belgaum will be held in January or February next year, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa announced on Monday November 1.
     
Inaugurating the colourful Children’s festival and gala Kannada Rajyothsava celebrations organized by the State Education Department at the Kanteera Stadium in Bangalore, the chief minister said it was necessary to strive for the emotional integration of the state just as the geographical unification.

People of Karnataka must always be vigilant and ceaselessly work for the protection of state’s borders, language, water and culture. All sections of society must be allowed to have a share in the state’s progress and development, he said.
     
Yeddyurappa, who released balloons and pigeons to mark the celebrations of 54th Statehood, pointed out that the government’s developmental efforts during the last two and half years had helped Karnataka to earn the second rank over the country in the implementation of the 20-point economic programme.
     
''The government will continue its efforts to emerge as the number one state in the country,” he said emphasizing the need for all-round progress in the education department. It was necessary to ensure that the educated youth were able to stand on their own legs and become self-reliant, he said.
     
The chief minister said the Global Investors’ Meet organized by the government in the month of June had resulted in the signing of as many as 383 MoUs involving a total investment of Rs 3.93 lac crore. The GIM’s success was followed up with the signing of another 342 MoUs involving an additional investment of Rs 91,519 crore.

The total investments generated on account of GIM was Rs 4.85 lac crore, he said pointing out that as many as 137 companies involving an investment of Rs 2.43 lac crore had already started preliminary works on implementation of the projects. ''We are confident that the state will overtake all other states in industrial development in the coming years,” he claimed.
     
He said the districts in northern Karnataka, which were known as Hyderabad-Karnataka and Mumbai-Karnataka, were likely to be renamed as ''Kalyana Karnataka” and ''Swabhimani Karnataka” respectively to signify the self-respect in the state. Names of noted Kannada literatteurs and personalities would be given to some of the districts and prominent places, he indicated.
     
Though Kannada had been accorded its rightful status as a classical language, the chief minister lamented that the state’s official language was yet to get the facilities and benefits commensurate with its status. He said the patience of the state’s people should not be tested.
     
Primary and secondary education minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, who presided over the function, said the government was committed to its policy of according primacy to Kannada and compulsory education in Kannada as the medium of instruction. The matter was pending before the Supreme Court.
While all languages must be respected and given due encouragement, Kannada should enjoy primacy in the state, he said urging teachers and education department officials must strive to inculcate the love of language among the students and also prevent brain drain.
     
Karnataka’s Planning Commission deputy chairman Ramachandra Gowda, former minister, and Public Instruction Department commissioner K R Shashidhar were among the dignitaries who participated in the function.
     
Over 1200 students from as many as 125 schools provided variety entertainment and cultural programmes. Students from 25 schools in the city staged a march-past.