Madikeri: The long -standing demand for a separate Taluk status for Ponnampet in South Kodagu has received a boost with Chief Minister Siddharamaiah assuring that he would look into the issue.

Meeting a delegation of Ponnampet Taluk Horata Samithi leaders at his Ramakrishnanagar residence in Mysuru on Wednesday, the CM said that the State Government has already announced the creation of 50 new taluks for administrative ease. “Kodagu is a small district and it already has three taluks,” the CM said.

Intervening in the discussion, Horata Samithi President and former MLC Cheppudira S. Arun Machaiah told Siddharamaiah that creation of Ponnampet Taluk will not cause much financial burden to the State exchequer.

“Before merger with Karnataka in 1956, Kodagu was a separate ‘C State’ and Ponnampet was the taluk centre of Kiggatnaad. Ponnampet was built by Diwan Cheppudira Ponnappa’s family. But because of less population, the region was later merged with Virajpet taluk,” he said.

Virajpet Taluk has an area of 160 kms and a new taluk creation will help give Ponnampet region more government facilities. The people from Birunani, Kutta, Kurchi, Pookala, Srimangala, Hudikeri, Ponnampet, Balele, Nittoor, Chikkamandur, Kanoor, Mathur and other villages in South Virajpet will get better access to healthcare, transport and other facilities. They will not have to come to Virajpet town every time. Instead, they can get their government work done at Ponnampet,” he told the CM.

Arun Machaiah explained that several government offices including State Forestry Science College, degree colleges, Sub-Registrar Office, Sub-Treasury and a Civil Court are functioning from Ponnampet and at the same time, there are several government buildings that are less utilised. “Kodagu had a Rajya Sabha and a Lok Sabha seat earlier and now we have even lost an Assembly seat as per the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission of India. Creation of the Taluk will benefit the people of interior parts of South Kodagu,” he said.

Listening to Arun Machaiah, Siddharamaiah said that the demand for a separate taluk was justified and told the delegation that he would look into the issue and take a suitable decision. Advocate Mathranda Appachu and Cheppudira Ponnappa were present in the delegation.