A formal announcement regarding the venue of the All-India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan scheduled to be held in January was not made at the reception committee meeting chaired by district in-charge R.V. Deshpande here on Friday.
After listening to elected representatives and invitees, Mr. Deshpande said Deputy Commissioner M. Deepa would make a formal announcement on Saturday. Along with sentimental issues, practical challenges involved in preparation and arrangements need to be taken into consideration before finalising the venue. A final call would be taken in consultation with senior officials, the police and district Kannada Sahitya Parishat, he said.
Earlier, S.V. Sankanur, MLC; Pradeep Shettar, Srinivas Mane and others suggested selecting a suitable location keeping in mind the large inflow of people and vehicles during the three-day event. Mr. Mane said Dharwad is hosting this event after 61 years. There have been lot of changes. The population and traffic density has increased. These factors should be taken into account. KCD grounds may not be a suitable venue in case expected participation is over one lakh, he said.
Municipal Councillors Rajanna Koravi and Deepak Chinchore said there should be no more debate on this issue and the authorities should take a final call. They also assured standing by the decision of the district administration.
Logo and website
Mr. Deshpande released the logo of the sammelan. Designed by Mahesh Pattar, it has been selected by a committee of experts. Mr. Deshpande also launched the website www.abkssdwd.org on the occasion. Zilla Panchayat president Chaitra Shirur, Deputy Commissioner M. Deepa, SP Sangeetha G., Deputy Commissioner of Police B.S. Nemagoudar, and others were present.