The Hindu : `New officers ready to learn Kannada'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 07, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

`New officers ready to learn Kannada'

By Our Staff Correspondent

BELLARY Jan. 6. Chi.Somashekar, Director of Kannada and Culutre, while admitting that implementation of Kannada in administration was not up to the mark at the Secretariat level, said it was improving.

Mr. Somashekar told presspersons here on Monday that with more teeth given to the Kannada Development Authority, the implementation of Kannada in administration was picking up at the Secretariat level. Second, the young and new IAS and IPS officials showed interest in learning Kannada.

Mr. Somashekar claimed that Kannada in administration was cent per cent at the district level. In some of the departments, including Excise, Commercial Tax, the problem persisted for want of a suitable lexicon in Kannada and efforts were on to provide it.

The department had been organising divisional-level symposia on Kannada as administrative language. A symposia was held in Mysore Division and it would be held in other divisions too.

Mr. Somashekar said the department planned to organise programmes, including cultural, in 52 taluks in border areas, identified by the Kannada Development Authority, to create awareness about Kannada. About Rs. 25,000 had been released for every taluk for extending financial assistance to five pro-Kannada organisations and encourage them to take up more pro-Kannada activities. The department was thinking of continuing the scheme Assembly constituency-wise from next year and allocate Rs. 20,000 per constituency.

He said the selection for various awards was on. The Government had doubled the pension amount from Rs. 250 to Rs. 500 to about 10,000 artistes, and a committee, headed by Master Hiranaiah, was looking into fresh applications from artistes for pensions. A district-level directory of artistes was being prepared by the department. When his attention was drawn to the cultural complex in Bellary, the only one in the State, constructed at an estimated Rs. 1.30 crore, was not put to use, Mr. Somashekar said that M.Y.Ghorpade, district in-charge minister, had a discussion with M.Diwakar Babu and Rani Satish, ministers, in this regard.

He said that Rs. 50,000 had been released for celebrating Sri Purandhara Dasa Aradhana in Hampi on February 1. The work on bringing out 46 volumes of "Dasa Sahitya Male" was on and the same would be included in the website. The department had planned to select around 500 songs composed by the Dasas and produce audiocassettes.

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