The Karnataka State Border Area Development Authority (KSBADA) will hold a meeting of high level officials of five bordering states to discuss the various issues relating to the border areas.
KSBADA chairman and Dharwad MLA Chandrakant Bellad said the meeting will be organised in three months. “The survey regarding the problems faced by the people in 52 taluks which are bordering other states is being carried out and it will be completed in a month. KSBADA will decide on the future course of action after receiving the report,” he said.
Referring to the Mandekolu village on Kerala border and Hogenkal on Tamil Nadu border he said no development works were possible yet in these areas as they remained disputed regions. The authority would give due impetus to conduct survey of these areas to find out how many areas in these places belong to which place. Certain burning problems of these areas would be brought to the attention of the state government with a demand for measures to sort them out on priority basis, he said.
When asked about Kerala government making it compulsory to learn Malayalam as a language in Kannada medium schools in Kasargod Bellad said the Authority would take up the matter with the government. “I will visit Kasaragod on June 8 and hold discussions with the district officials, Kannada organisations and public in this regard,” Bellad explained.
The Karnataka government has sanctioned Rs 25 crore to the KSBADA against the demand of Rs 100 crore. Of the sanctioned amount, Rs 15 crore has been released and the authority is preparing an action plan.
Priority has been given to the development of border villages in Belgaum and Chamrajnagar districts.
Development works worth Rs 95 lakh have been taken up in the Hanur area and a teachers’ colony is coming up in Gopinatham village in Kollegal taluk, Bellad informed.
Apart from releasing Rs 1 crore to the Chamarajnagar district, the authority had sanctioned 10 cultural centres in border villages of Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Doddaballapur and Dakshina Kannada districts. These cultural centres would be built in the villages within 20 km radius from the edge of the state boundary but not in the district or taluk headquarters, Bellad said.
