Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Rajyotsava sans exuberance in Gulbarga

Flagging off: Deputy Commissioner Pankajkumar Pandey and Gulbarga Zilla Panchayat president Bharathi S. Patil offering floral tributes to the portrait of goddess Bhuvaneshwari as part of the Rajyotsava Day celebrations in Gulbarga on Thursday.

GULBARGA: The 51st Rajyotsava Day celebrations lacked the usual exuberance accompanied with the functions in the absence of active participation by elected representatives and the boycott and protest by the Hyderabad Karnataka Horata Samiti.

The President’s Rule in the State had taken away the usual pomp in the celebrations with the absence of Ministers who usually unveil development plans for the district during the celebrations. Deputy Commissioner Pankajkumar Pandey unfurled the Kannada Flag and National Flag to mark the beginning of the celebrations.

The day was marked with the boycott of the celebrations by the samiti protesting against the failure of the government to concede the demand for amendment to Article 371 of the Constitution.

In Chincholi town, the protest was more vociferous with more than 150 volunteers of the HKHS disrupting the Rajyotsava Day procession waving black flags and shouting slogans demanding separate State for Hyderabad Karnataka region. The protesters were arrested by the police and later released.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Pandey called upon the youth to take the initiative and actively participate in protecting the rich cultural heritage of Karnataka and strive to uphold the human values and integrity of society.

Later, he flagged of a colourful procession of schoolchildren and cultural troupes carrying the portrait of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari in a flower bedecked vehicle. Several tableaux depicting different development works were part of the Rajyotsava Day procession.

Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner gave away the civil service award to six government officials namely Rathna Kalamdhani, Women and Child Welfare Officer; Devaraj Yadav, Executive Officer of the Sedam Taluk Panchayat; Basavaraj Patil, Assistant Engineer in Minor Irrigation Department at Yadgir; Mohd Mobin Jila, Water Shed Officer in Afzalpur Taluk; Chandrakant Chagi, Shrestidar, Election Office in Deputy Commissioners office, and Shivasharanappa Ratrikar, Second Division Clerk, Home Guard Office.

Bijapur Staff Correspondent reports:

Deputy Commissioner V.B. Patil said on Thursday that steps had been taken to ensure that the administration was run only in the Kannada language.

Unfurling the Kannada flag on the occasion of 51st Rajyotsava Day at the district stadium, he said the State had made giant strides in the information technology sector. There was need to utilise the other resources in the State to achieve comprehensive development, he said.

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