Staff Correspondent
Fourth Udupi District Kannada Sahitya Sammelan begins
`Solve naxalite problem through dialogue' `Eco-friendly projects are welcome in the district'
Inna (Udupi District): Writer Vyasaraya Ninjur on Saturday said that the move to introduce English as a language from the first standard in Kannada-medium schools was not desirable.
He was speaking at the inaugural function of the fourth Udupi District Kannada Sahitya Sammelan here.
Dr. Ninjur, who presided over the function, said that Jnanpith Award-winners U.R. Ananthamurthy and the late Kota Shivarama Karanth had not learned English from their childhood. They had first learned Kannada and then English.
In Udupi district, children had to learn two languages Tulu and Kannada but now they would have to learn English also. "Will this not be a burden on them," he asked.
Naxalite problem
He said the naxalite problem in Udupi district had attained serious dimensions. It was not possible to ignore this problem by saying that some youth had gone astray, he said. They were committed to their principles, and it was wrong to say that their fight for tribal people evicted from their land and the landless was unjust, Dr. Ninjur said. However, resorting to violence to solve problems was not the right step, he said.
The naxalite problem could be solved through dialogue and with an open mind, he said.
Thermal project
Another problem confronting the district was the proposed coal-based thermal power project.
Everyone wanted electricity but this need not be from a coal-based plant, he said. The authorities had failed to explain about the disposal of fly ash and the release of treated water into the sea and its impact on marine life, he said.
They had not given details about the number of trees that would be felled for setting up the plant.
The alternative for the people who would be displaced had not been properly explained, he said.
This problem was not confined only to environmentalists but to all people in the district. "Eco-friendly projects are always welcome in the district," Dr. Ninjur said.
Sri Vishwapriya Tirtha swamiji of Admar Math inaugurated the sammelan. Lalaji Mendan, MLA; Vinaykumar Sorake, former MP; Harikrishna Punaroor, former president of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat; Pradeep Kalkura, member of the Kannada Development Authority; U.C. Holla, president of the Udupi District Kannada Sahitya Parishat; Udyavara Madhava Acharya, writer; and Ambatanaya Mudrady, president of the Karkala Taluk Kannada Sahitya Parishat, were present.
