Government blamed for border areas' problems

Former chairman of Karnataka State Border Area Development Authority and MLA Chandrakant Bellad has blamed the state government for not providing adequate funds to the authority. This has resulted, he said, in the authority not being able to function properly.

Inaugurating a two-day consultative workshop on border issues organised at the Suvarna Sammuchaya in Dharwad, he said, the government should have provided Rs 100 crore annually for developing the towns and villages in border areas but what it gave was a paltry Rs 10 crore.

Bellad complained that even after three years of setting up the authority, no official has been appointed to manage it. The state government cannot neglect the burning problems of the border people, he added.

Bellad demanded that the government give priority to setting up libraries in every gram panchayat, cultural complexes, housing facilities for the teachers, play grounds and schools for the children in border areas among other facilities. Lashing out at the Tamil Nadu and Maharastra governments, Bellad stated that both the governments were closing down Kannada schools in the border areas and not appointing teachers to teach Kannada language. The Karnataka government should pressure the Centre to direct Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu not to close down Kannada medium schools in border areas, he asserted. Writer S B Jogur said, the Mahajan Committee report has clearly stated that 46 villages in Sangli in Maharashtra should be included in Karnataka. Over 50 per cent of people in Solapur and Akkalkot speak Kannada, he added.

“The people who tried their best to set up the Mahajan Committee report now are silent on implementing the report. This attitude of the politicians will add to the woes of the people living in border areas,” he lamented.

Mohan Nagamnavar said that it was time to reunify Karnataka. The Kannadigas should wake up and fight for the injustice meted out to people living in border areas.