Kushalnagar: Residents and activists of Kushalnagar, the fastest growing town in Madikeri district, are angry at the State Government after the town failed to make it to the list of newly-created Taluks once again.

This means that Kushalnagar is stuck in Somwarpet Taluk for the foreseeable future. The demand for a separate Cauvery Taluk with headquarters at Kushalnagar has been growing over the years since residents find travelling 27 km to Somwarpet to get their work done to be a waste of time.

Following the neglect from the State Government, members of various pro-people organisations formed Cauvery Taluk Horata Samithi under the Presidentship of former ZP member V.P. Shashidhar. The committee even prepared the map of new Cauvery Taluk comprising 19 Gram Panchayat areas and formed village committees. And now, the Samithi will hold a massive rally at Kushalnagar on Oct. 30, demanding  a separate taluk.

After a central committee meeting of the Samithi on Oct. 11, Shashidhar said that the 49 Taluks that have been announced by the State Government would come into existence in 2018 January. The government must be compelled to declare Kushalnagar as the 50th Taluk, he said.

Along with political route, they will in parallel convince the government for creation of Cauvery Taluk, he said and added that the long-pending demand of a Taluk status for Kushalnagar was repeatedly ignored by the State Government. He said the government must form the Taluk as it had the merit such as population, extent of land, and required infrastructure.

On Oct. 30, a decision will be taken on the future course of action. “The rally will be a milestone in the struggle and this is not a protest against anybody. We plead all political parties to support this struggle for a new Taluk that will ease the troubles of the people of Kushalnagar,” he said.

All the elected representatives will be invited for the rally and a decision on bandh in Kushalnagar will be taken at the rally. He explained that the postal agitation has already been started and a series of awareness campaigns will be conducted in rural areas regarding the rally and the importance of Cauvery Taluk.