10 Kannada activists detained in Belagavi for flouting Covid norms

BELAGAVI: Tension prevailed at the Belagavi City Corporation (BCC) here on Monday, when some Kannada activists arrived and tried to replace an old Kannada flag installed at the premises, with a new one.

As the activists violated Covid guidelines by gathering in large numbers without masks, police took 10 of them into custody. In December last year, Kannada activists had installed a Kannada flag at the BCC premises, allegedly without seeking permission from the authorities.

This had snowballed into a huge controversy, with members of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti demanding that they too be allowed to install a saffron flag there. While the authorities didn’t permit it, the police have been providing security to the Kannada flag for the past six months.

On Monday, a group of Kannada activists gathered at the BCC premises along with a new flag to change the old one, as it had worn out. But they were stopped by the police, who informed them that they will change the flag themselves, and requested the activists to return.

But, they did not listen and started arguing with police, and also shouted slogans against the department. Even Market ACP Sadashiv Kattimani tried convincing the activists that the flag would be changed and asked them to return, as they were violating Covid norms. When the activists failed to yield, police took 10 into custody.