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Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Kannada activist Ashok Chandaragi selected for Champa Sirigannada Award
Belagavi: Senior Kannada activist Ashok Chandaragi of Belagavi was selected for the Champa Sirigannada Award, presented in the name of writer Chandrashekhar Patil, by the Karnataka Swabhimani Vedike, Bangalore. The award ceremony will be held on June 18 at 4.30pm at Nayana Auditorium of Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bengaluru. Senior writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa will present the award. The chairman of the Kannada Development Authority Prof Purushottam Bilimale will preside over the event. Kannada Janshakti Kendra President CK Ramegowda and Champa's daughter, deputy commissioner of the labour department, Meena Patil, will be the guests. Cultural programmes have been organised before the award ceremony, said Shankar Hoogar, President of the Karnataka Swabhimani Vedike, in a statement. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Protests over decision to divert Hidkal Dam water to H-D industries
Belagavi: A govt order allowing the diversion of 45 million litres per day (MLD) of water from the Hidkal Dam to industrial areas in Hubballi-Dharwad has sparked widespread controversy in Belagavi district. Environmental groups, farmers' associations, Dalit organisations, and various civil society groups are gearing up for large-scale protests, with Kannada organisations leading the charge. Ashok Chandaragi, president of the Belagavi zilla Kannada Sanghatanegala Kriya Samiti, wrote a strong letter to chief minister Siddaramaiah , deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, and district minister Satish Jarkiholi, demanding immediate withdrawal of the order. He called the decision 'anti-public' and criticised the silence of Belagavi's elected representatives. Hidkal Dam is a crucial source of drinking water for Belagavi city and hundreds of villages across Belagavi and Bagalkot districts. Local communities, both human and livestock, repeatedly faced water shortages in the past. Against this backdrop, the diversion of 45 MLD of water to support industrial expansion in another district triggered anger and disbelief among Belagavi residents. Chandaragi questioned the govt's justification for the order, which claims the water is meant for an upcoming 6,000-acre industrial area in Dharwad district. "This is a grossly misleading statement. The water demand for such an industrial zone will only increase with time," he warned. He also cited the example of the Navilutirth Dam in Savadatti taluk. "Initially, only 2 tmcft of water was supplied from there to Hubballi-Dharwad. Today, it ballooned to 6.5 tmcft. This is a pattern we must not ignore," he cautioned, accusing Hubballi-Dharwad politicians of exploiting the passivity of Belagavi's political leadership.
