Belagavi: Paying rich tributes to Kittur Rani Chennamma, Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa assured of steps to declare Kittur a taluk soon.
Inaugurating the three-day annual festival ‘Kittur Utsav’ on October23, the minister said that all the offices, including that of a tahsildar, would be provided once Kittur is declared a taluk. He instructed his departmental officials to issue title deeds to all the farmers who have constructed houses on Government land and ensure that each is provided 4000 sq,ft. They need more space to rear cattle, he emphasized on the occasion.
The three-day festival took off on a grand scale with thousands of people from all over the district and adjoining cities, towns and villages thronging the small town in Belagavi district to witness the cultural extravaganza.
The celebrations were kick started on Sunday morning by Small-Scale Industries Minister Ramesh L. Jarkiholi and other dignitaries garlanding a statue of Rani Chennamma, queen of the erstwhile princely state of Kittur. Jarkiholi and Suresh C. Angadi, MP, addressed a sizeable gathering and paid rich tributes to Rani Chennamma .The government has been organising Kittur Utsav, essentially as ‘Vijayothsava’ to mark the heroic rebellion of Rani Chennamma against the British regime on this day in 1824.
Jarkiholi and government chief whip Ashok M. Pattan accorded a ceremonial reception to the ‘Vijay Jyoti’ on its arrival near the statue of the queen in the town. The ‘Vijay Jyoti’ travelled across all the taluks in the district in a week’s period.
Pattan inaugurated a cultural rally consisting of nearly 40 contingents of artists representing different art forms native to the region and State. An exhibition of consumer products was inaugurated on the Kittur fort premises, the venue of the main cultural programs.
MLAs D.B. Inamdar and Vishwanath Patil, Deputy Commissioner B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda, Superintendent of Police, Bagadi Gautam, Belagavi Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer, Vidyavati Bhajantri along with officials from different government departments including Kannada and Culture were present on the occasion.
