KDA favours special status for H-K region

HUBLI: Chairman of Kannada Development Authority and pro-Kannada activist, Mukhyamantri Chandru, has strongly opposed bifurcation of states. Reacting to the demands for statehood for Kodagu and Hyderabad-Karnataka region, he said they were not justified. However, Chandru said he is favour of granting special status to H-K region under Article 371 D of the Constitution.
"No state should be divided for political gains. Bifurcation should be considered only if people have suffered regional discrimination and their economic and social development is far behind the state's average. A separate state could be formed only if it is convenient for administration," Chandru said, adding he was willing to lobby with the Centre to grant special status to H-K region.
TRAINING IN KANNADA
Around three lakh government officials will be trained in writing flawless Kannada. "A study has revealed around 25% of the 6.5 lakh employees have difficulty in writing Kannada. This hampers official communication. Therefore, we have planned a two-year-long programme to train them. A list of 180 resource persons has also been prepared for that," he said, and added that he would also consider training MLAs and other people's representatives in Kannada usage.
UNICODE IN COMPUTERS
After grappling with various software tools for implementing Kannada in computers, the government has decided on using Unicode. "All government transactions will be done using Unicode. We will also standardize the Kannada fonts to be used in computers and other electronic gadgets," Chandru said.
KANNADA CHAIRS
Kannada study chairs in university outside Karnataka will each be supported with Rs 1-crore grant. The students there will get an annual allowance of Rs 20,000 and teachers from universities in Karnataka will be deputed there.
Kannada chairs in foreign varsities will be supported with additional grants and deputation of teachers. There are three such chairs in Heidelberg University in Germany, Vienna in Austria and in USA. "We are talking to the heads of these universities on how we can help them," Chandru said.
AWARDS FOR TOPPERS
KDA will award cash prizes to Kannada-medium students who have topped in SSLC and PUC examinations at the taluk level. The first three prizes, in that order, will be Rs 8,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 6,000. A total of Rs 1 crore is being given away in awards across the state, he said.