Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)

Udupi, Apr 17: Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Monday April 17 said that the much-debated issue of Kambala, the rural sport of coastal Karnataka, will be sorted out and that he would meet President Pranab Mukherjee to get his nod for the bill.

Speaking to reporters at the Circuit House in Bannanje here, Sadananda Gowda said, "The first phase of discussion on Kambala is over. The state's bill on Kambala has been reviewed by the three departments of the home ministry (environment, law and culture). The bill will be sent back to the home minister seeking legal advice on framing rules on Kambala. The process will take 15-20 days. The joint secretaries of the home minister, the centre and Karnataka law secretaries had a primary discussion recently to rectify the issue."

On the status of Kambala bill at the union government level, he said, "Probably, tomorrow I may go to Delhi. If everything goes as planned, I will do the rest of the work of sending the bill to the President. We will meet the President and speak to him about Kambala. President Pranab Mukherjee has always stood by bills that are in the interest of the people."

Yettinahole issue

"I have spoken about the issue many times and now decided to leave the issue to the public. BJP is not in power in the state and people should decide about the project. We need to educate the people of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi about Yettinahole project. The irrigation department has to organize programmes, led by district in-charge minister, zilla panchayat members and people’s represents. According to the plan, excess water will go to other districts only during monsoons, which is only for 100 days a year," DVS said.

"Every year, around 1,200 to 1300 TMC water goes to sea and if we lift that water during monsoons only for 100 days, it is not going to affect the environment," he added.

Tulu in Eighth Schedule of Constitution

"A high-level discussion was held over the eligibility criteria of Tulu language and a committee has reported that the Tulu has all the features to be included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. But the different regional languages of the nation are competing to get priority. The process is going on priority basis," he said.

By-election defeat of BJP in Nanjangud and Gundlupet

To a question on the recent drubbing that BJP faced in the Gundlupet and Nanjangud by-elections, DVS said, "It is obvious that the ruling party wins the by-election. But BJP's prestige was not reduced in any way. The party had good candidates. People have let Congress enjoy one more year of power. In fact, the by-election result has increased BJP's resolve even more. The poll result will not affect future politics."

Mattar Ratnakar Hegde, district BJP president, Suresh Nayak and others were present.