more-in The decision to hold the third Vishwa Kannada Sammelana (World Kannada convention) in Davanagere in December has drawn opposition from some quarters. On Saturday, M. Lakshminarayana, Special Officer to Vishwa Kannada Sammelana and Secretary in the Department of Kannada, Culture and Information, met officials in Davanagere in connection with the event. “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah may announce the dates of the convention on Tuesday. The government has earmarked ?20 crore for the event,” he said. Mr. Siddaramaiah has convened a meeting of writers and intellectuals on Tuesday to discuss the modalities of the event. But, noted writer Chandrashekara Patil and former Kannada Sahitya Parishat president finds it is unwise to hold the gala event amidst a severe drought. “To celebrate any event, the time should be conducive. But at present, successive droughts and shortage of drinking water have made the life of ordinary people miserable. Farmers are committing suicide,” he told The Hindu. His view is echoed by S.G. Siddaramaiah, Chairperson, Kannada Development Authority. “Monsoon has failed and farmers are in distress. I am haunted by the question whether it is a time for celebrations.” He has cancelled trips to the USA and Australia for Kannada conventions for the same reason. Interestingly, the first two Sammelanas (Mysuru in 1985 and Belagavi in 2011) also faced opposition from writers and intellectuals, including Mr. Chandrashekara Patil. Drought was the reason for the opposition in 1985 as well. Mr. Patil added that things are not looking rosy on the language front either. “The Centre is trying to impose Hindi while Kannada schools are closing because of the domination of English-medium schools. Issues such as Cauvery and Kalasa-Banduri are yet to be resolved. What is the need to hold the event at this juncture?”

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