The Kannada Okkoota, a forum of pro-Kannada organisations led by Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha president Vatal Nagaraj, has called for a 24-hour “rail bandh” agitation in Karnataka on January 7 demanding special status to the backward region of Hyderabad Karnataka and removal of regional imbalances in the State.
Announcing this at a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Vatal Nagaraj said that the rail bandh would be observed from 6 a.m. on January 7 to 6 a.m. on January 8. “Train movement will be brought to a halt on that day. No train will be allowed to enter Karnataka from other States and no train will be allowed to go out of the State,” he said.
Pointing out that those who fought for re-organisation of the State on linguistic basis had dreamt that all the regions of the State would see faster and uniform development, he alleged that the spirit behind the State re-organisation had not been fulfilled though several decades had passed ever since Karnataka was formed. This was evident with several regions of the State especially Hyderabad Karnataka, north Karnataka and Chamarajanagar and Kodagu districts still suffering from lack of infrastructure, he said.
He demanded that the ruling BJP should appoint a leader from the Hyderabad Karnataka region as Deputy Chief Minister and a leader from northern Karnataka as Finance Minister to give impetus for the development of these backward regions.
Announcing this at a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Vatal Nagaraj said that the rail bandh would be observed from 6 a.m. on January 7 to 6 a.m. on January 8. “Train movement will be brought to a halt on that day. No train will be allowed to enter Karnataka from other States and no train will be allowed to go out of the State,” he said.
Pointing out that those who fought for re-organisation of the State on linguistic basis had dreamt that all the regions of the State would see faster and uniform development, he alleged that the spirit behind the State re-organisation had not been fulfilled though several decades had passed ever since Karnataka was formed. This was evident with several regions of the State especially Hyderabad Karnataka, north Karnataka and Chamarajanagar and Kodagu districts still suffering from lack of infrastructure, he said.
He demanded that the ruling BJP should appoint a leader from the Hyderabad Karnataka region as Deputy Chief Minister and a leader from northern Karnataka as Finance Minister to give impetus for the development of these backward regions.
