KANNADA SHOULD GROW FROM RURAL LEVEL

Madikeri February 17

Kannada should grow from rural level and effort is needed to implement it, opined state Kannada Sahitya Parishath president K.R.Nallur Prasadh.

Prasad was speaking after inaugurating the district level Sahitya Sammelan at Bhagamandala yesterday. Replying to the questions why a conference like this is required, he said that the meets like this are the havens of Kannada literature and culture. Exchanging thoughts, learning from talks, meets like this carry more meaning and weight he said.

He stated that the Parishath will in future seek detailed accounts from district units which hold conferences. Accounts were being sought only to the amount released from the government so far and the system would be changed in future, he said. He also said that conferences would be held in the month of November in future years.

Deputy Speaker K.G.Bopaiah spoke on the occasion and said that people should come forward to encourage Kannada language and consider it as a priority. He informed that the year 2009 is considered as the year of Kannada implementation. He regretted that Kannada is not receiving enough respect in the state head quarters, Bangalore and this attitude should be changed.

The chief secretary of Kannada and culture department and Information and Publicity, Jayaramraje Urs released a souvenir and said that the government is spending rupees 184 crores in the state for the development of Kannada. He regretted that Academies should be started to protect languages. He said that the Kodava academy would be launched soon and the allegations of misappropriation during the last term would be investigated.

Presiding over the Sammelan, littérateur Edurkula Shankaranarayana Bhat opined that Kannada is suffering as it is not considered as a prominent language in school levels. He asserted that Kannada should be taught with priority in primary and high school levels under any circumstance. He said that English can also be taught parallely, but yet Kannada should have equal place even in English medium schools.

District Parishath president T.P.Ramesh welcomed the gathering.

HEALTH SHIELD PROGRAMME LAUNCHED

Deputy Speaker K.G.Bopaiah inaugurated the health shield programme yesterday at Madikeri. He informed that the project functions jointly with the support of government and private sectors.He cautioned that the present programme should not fail in the lines of “Nemmadi Kendra” project which has proved to be unsuccessful.

MLA Appachu Ranjan presided over the function and said two mobile vehicles are provided to the programme with an intension to provide medical aid to all in need.

He also informed that the government has released rupees six crores to start a Drug Control Room in the district hospital.

ZP president Deergakeshi Shivanna, Deputy Commissioner Baladeva Krishna CMC president P.D.Ponnappa and others were present.