'Accord Union Territory status to Kodagu'

By Our Staff Correspondent

MADIKERI, JAN. 26. The members of the Coorg National Council (CNC) today observed a satyagraha in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue here to press their demand that Kodagu be accorded the status of a Union Territory.

Mr. N.U.Nachappa, Secretary-General of the CNC, who led the satyagraha, told The Hindu that the council would continue to fight for realising its goal of Part ``C'' status to Kodagu, which it enjoyed before its merger with the then Mysore State in 1956. The struggle would be peaceful and within the framework of the Constitution, he added.

The district had been ignored by the successive state governments in terms of development. Separation from Karnataka was the only answer to end the problems of the district, he said.

The CNC was now laying stress on ``protecting'' the minority Kodava community. It was endeavouring for the inclusion of the Kodava language in the VIII Schedule of the Constitution and to retain the special rights being enjoyed by the Kodavas for centuries, Mr. Nachappa said.

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Section  : Southern States
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