Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Kannada activists disrupt rail traffic at Gulbarga station

UP IN ARMS: Members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedhike staging a rail roko at Gulbarga Railway Station on Sunday.

GULBARGA: Rail traffic was disrupted on the Chennai-Mumbai section at Gulbarga Railway Station for more than 15 minutes by members of two Kannada organisations demanding among other things, classical language status to Kannada and appointment of Kannadigas to Group-D posts in South Western Railways.

The Kannada Sainya, led by its district president Shivasharanappa Khanadal, along with chief of Sulpul Math Sri Mahanta Shivacharyaru and chief of Chowdapur Hiremath Sri Rajasekhara Shivacharyaru, came in a procession from Sardar Vallabhai Patel Chowk to the Gulbarga Railway Station, where they staged a rail roko.

Initially, they were stopped by the police. After heated exchanges between the protesters and police, activists of the Kannada Sainya were allowed to enter the railway station on the condition that they would not hold up rail traffic for a long time or damage any public property.

Soon after entering the railway station, the activists squatted on the track and blocked the Chennai-bound Madras Mail for about 10 minutes. They were dispersed by the Railway Police.

Later, members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedhike blocked the Mumbai Mail for about five minutes before they were dispersed by the police.

The Kannada Sainya, in a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, demanded that the Union Government accord classical language status to Kannada and protect the interests of Kannadigas in appointment of Group-D employees in the South Central Railway by reserving all the posts for the local people.

They also wanted the Government to implement the recommendations of the High Power Committee for Redressal of Regional Imbalances headed by the late D.M. Nanjundappa and the Dr. Sarojini Mahishi report, which sought reservation for local people in public and private sector industries.

They also wanted the Union Government to concede the long-pending demand of the region for an amendment to Article 371 of the Constitution to provide special reservation in employment and education for the people in the backward regions of the State.

No untoward incident was reported and no arrests were made.

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