Name boards of Kannada literary giants in Dasara expo removed

Irked activists urge for re-installation

Mysuru: The pathways inside Dasara Exhibition Grounds had been named after doyens of Kannada literature and pro-Kannada activists. However, now these name boards have been dismantled by Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA), only to irk Kannada admirers.

General Secretary of Kannada Kriya Samiti, Mysuru, S.R. Sudarshan has stated, the pathways of the exhibition grounds had been named after reputed Kannada litterateurs like Rashtrakavi Kuvempu, B.V. Karanth, D.R. Bendre among over 30 others, during the tenure of R. Raghu as KEA Chairman. The names of the litterateurs had been recommended by the Chairman of Kannada Implementation Committee headed by him (Sudarshan). The concrete boards bearing the names of these writers had been installed, as a permanent initiative.

Unfortunately, the present KEA Chairman who lacks knowledge about these matters of significance, has removed all those boards and dumped in a place. Among the pile of these boards, the board of Jnanpith awardee litterateur V.K. Gokak is clearly visible, which shows how poor we are in possessing a sense of heritage. It is condemnable that, such abominable act has happened, coinciding with the inauguration of Dasara, a heritage festival, said Kannada activist.

Kannada Kriya Samiti exhorts KEA Chairman Ayub Khan, who has been supporting pro-Kannada movements, to restore these name boards at the earliest.

Mohammad Ghazni’s culture: Vijayendra

Meanwhile, State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra on his ‘X’ account, has termed the very incident as ‘Reign of Mohammad Ghazni’s Culture by Congress Government on the opening day of Dasara’.

Congress Government has insulted the great personalities of Kannada Nadu, by highlighting the culture of Mohammad Ghazni, who had plundered Hindu temples, which is a black mark for the Nada Habba.

By naming the roads after Saints Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa, literary giants like D.R. Bendre, Kuvempu and V.K. Gokak, Sandalwood legends like Dr. Rajkumar and T.N. Balakrishna, doyens of music like Vasudevacharya and Piteel Chowdaiah, the visitors had the opportunity to remember the noble souls of the land, stated Vijayendra in his social media post.