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Union Territory status sought for Karaikal

Special Correspondent

Non-political group stages rally

PONDICHERRY: The Karaikal Struggle Group (KSG), a non-political organization of public opinion leaders has reiterated its demand that the Centre confer status of Union Territory (UT) on Karaikal.

A release from the convenor of the group, S.P. Selvashanmugham, said on Friday that the volunteers and activists of the Group took out a rally in Karaikal on Thursday and held demonstration in front of the District Collector office there in support of the demand for UT status.

Mr.Selvashanmugham maintained that only UT status would relieve Karaikal of its backwardness. All along Karaikal, an enclave of Pondicherry, had been `neglected` by all governments that held office and regional imbalance in developmental programmes` had been a major handicap for the progress of the region.

The region `is most backward among all the regions`, he said. The allocation in the budget was also meagre and insufficient to ensure progress in any field.

He said that the rally was also aimed at urging the Centre to depute a Fact Finding Committee to Karaikal to make an on the spot assessment of the backwardness and extent of neglect the region had suffered all these five decades since the de facto merger of Pondicherry with Indian Union.

R Ramasreenivasan, a freedom fighter, said that there was nothing wrong in demanding separate UT status.

When Goa was made a State the constituents of the then Union Territory of Goa namely Diu and Daman were retained and were conferred the Union Territory status.

The president of Agriculturists Welfare Association of Karaikal, P.Ramanathan urged the Administration to disburse the compensation of Rs 60,000 for a hectare of land, announced in the context of tsunami that affected farmland in Karaikal.

The Lt Governor should also intervene and ensure that Karaikal obtained its share in Cauvery river water.

The cultivation of kuruvai crop had been rendered impossible for last two and half decades because of poor and scanty water availability in cauvery system.

The functionaries of the KSG also wanted early conduct of civic polls and filling of all vacant posts in government educational institutions in Karaikal.

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Union Territory status sought for Karaikal

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