Deputy Commissioner M. Deepa has expressed satisfaction over the preparation works for the 84th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan and said that the district administration would strive to ensure that it becomes a memorable event.
Speaking to presspersons after inspecting the facilities at the event venue here on Monday, Ms. Deepa said that all efforts are being made to celebrate this as a people’s festival. Large-scale publicity initiatives have been taken up in urban as well as rural areas.
To provide accommodation to delegates and participants, 35 hotels in Dharwad and 45 hotels in Hubballi have been booked. Besides these, kalyan mantaps have been booked and some participants will be lodged even in government hostels. Over 250 buses will be run round-the-clock to ferry participants from important junctions in the twin cities to the sammelan venue, she said.
The district administration has sought support from private companies, businessmen, banks and mutts and they all have responded positively to the district administration’s appeal. The government has released ₹ 8 crore for the event and the works have speeded up. The administration has opened a Corporate Social Responsibility account and has asked donors to credit donation amount through cheques into it. No cash transaction is being entertained to ensure transparency.
R.N. Shetty Construction has donated ₹ 5 lakh, Suvarna Construction has given ₹ 10 lakh and several businessmen have donated a few thousands of rupees. Banks have taken up the task of funding work to paint compound walls and buildings and decoration work. HESCOM will be giving T-shirts to all volunteers.
Government staff have decided to donate their one-day salary amounting to ₹ 60 lakh, she added.
The administration has made a 10-minute video on sahitya sammelan and this will be released by district in-charge Minister R.V. Deshpande on Tuesday. This apart, the administration has conducted an art workshop and the works will be auctioned at the sahitya sammelan.
Ms. Deepa said that road works are progressing fast and additional manpower has been employed to complete the task before Thursday.
On security measures, Deputy Commissioner of Police B.S. Nemagouda said that 14 parking slots have been created on UAS premises and special entrance has been created for VVIPs coming to the programme. CCTV cameras are installed on the premises to contain untoward incidents. This apart, 2,000 policemen of various ranks will be deployed on all the three days, he added.