HUBLI: Members of the Hubli-Dharwad Mahanagar Zilla Unit of Samajwadi Party staged a dharna in front of the office of the tahsildar here on Thursday seeking the inclusion of Hubli-Dharwad in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Govindaraj Harivan, president of the unit, who led the protest, alleged that while the previous Government had dragged its foot on the issue because of which the twin cities lost a chance to be included under the scheme, the present coalition Government was not taking interest in the issue.

Elected representatives and Ministers Basavaraj Horatti and Jagadish Shettar, who represented Hubli, were not keen on getting the twin cities included under the scheme, he alleged.

The silence of these elected representatives had given rise to doubts about whether they were really concerned about the development of the region, he said. "When they were not in power, they raised even small issues and took the path of agitation. Now when the twin cities have been deprived of such a big project, the leaders are maintaining silence on the issue," he added.

C.G. Patil of the party said the twin cities were in dire need of the project as the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation would get funds to develop the infrastructure in the twin cities.

Memorandum

The protesters submitted a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Minister H.D. Kumarswamy urging them to take steps to include the twin cities under the project.

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