Karavali Utsav at Pilikula in December, announces Dinesh Gundu Rao

Mangaluru: A meeting chaired by district-in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has taken a decision to hold the Karavali Utsav at the Pilikula Nisargadhama instead of Karavali Utsav Maidan in Mangaluru.

Deputy Commissioner Mullai Muhilan M P said earlier Karavali Utsav was organised at Karavali Utsav ground in Lalbagh in Mangaluru. However, the Karavali Utsav was not organised for the past few years. This year, it has been decided to organise it at Pilikula by utilising the facilities of Urban Haat, Samskritika grama and others, to attract more people.

The move has been considered to celebrate the Karavali Utsav in a new way—the linguistic diversity of Dakshina Kannada and the culture of the Koraga community will be showcase in a global village model.

The festival will be held from the third Saturday of December, and will continue for a month. The inaugural progamme is likely to be held on December 13, and will be followed by month-long celebrations, the Deputy Commissioner said.

In the meeting, Gundu Rao also directed authorities to constitute necessary committees for the Kambala and Karavali Utsav.

Silence zone

Some individuals have already approached the Karnataka High Court seeking a halt to Kamala in Bengaluru, citing animal cruelty.

There was a complaint filed in the High Court a few days ago too which claimed that wildlife in Pilikkula would also face problems due to Kambala, Puttur MLA Ashok Rai said. The Deputy Commissioner has assured that the issue will be looked into.

Pilikula Kambala

The state government has decided to hold the Pilikula Kambala at Dr Shivaram Karanth Pilikula Nisargadhama on November 17 and 18.

Tourism department Deputy Director (in charge) Rashmi said that 70 per cent of the work on the Kambala track (Kambala kare) has been completed at Pilikula. About Rs 70 lakh is needed for organising the Pilikula Kambala. MLC Manjunath Bhandari has transferred Rs 5 lakh from the MLCLAD to the Nirmiti Kendra to that end as well.

MLA Umanath Kotian stated that the expenses of Kambala should be managed through the district administration committee.

The local MLA will chair the meetings related to the venue of Kambala, and officers have been instructed to prepare the next framework regarding Kambala through a committee with the district-in-charge minister and an MP as honorary presidents.

Since the tenure of former Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda, Rs 5 lakh has been provided for conducting Kambala in the district. The grant, however, was not released last year, said Zilla Kambala Samithi President Deviprasad Shetty and urged the minister to ensure that funds are provided for every Kambala event.

DK MP Capt Brijesh Chowta, MLAs Dr Bharath Shetty, Rajesh Naik, MLC Kishire Kumar, Mayor Manoj Kumar Kodikal and others were present.