Karnataka-Maharashtra Border Row: Peace Prevails In Belagavi Amid Tight Security

Protests were held against the proposed visit of two Maharashtra ministers on Tuesday amid the ongoing border dispute

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Source : PTI file

Peace prevailed in the city and other parts of this district, a day after pro-Kannada organisations held a protest on the border row that affected normal life. Protests were held against the proposed visit of two Maharashtra ministers on Tuesday amid the ongoing border dispute.

Shambhuraj Desai and Chandrakant Patil, who were appointed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to coordinate with the legal team fighting the border row pertaining to Belagavi, were planning to visit to the city on Tuesday to attend a programme organised by a pro-Maharashtra organisation. However, due to protests by the pro-Kannada activists, the ministers postponed their visit.

"There's absolute peace here. No protests or demonstrations are taking place," a police officer told PTI. However, as a precautionary measure, security is still in place to prevent protests, he added.

Meanwhile, reports came in that the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists defaced the Ultra Delux Rajahamsa bus of KSRTC, which was on the way from Pune to Belagavi, at Sindhudurg in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra has been demanding the merger of Belagavi with it on the ground that there is a substantial Marathi-speaking population in the district. However, the Karnataka government has been rejecting the claims.

As reported earlier on Tuesday, Belagavi police detained several Karnataka Raskhana Vedike (KRV) workers, who staged a sit-in protest at Hire Bagewadi in Belagavi. The workers have also pelted stones at a truck that has Maharashtra registration and tried to stop the truck.

The Belagavi police halted the rally taken out by KRV workers and stopped them from entering Belagavi city. Nearly 400 party workers from Dharwad have planned to enter Belagavi on 100 vehicles, but were halted at the Hire Bagewadi toll gate, said The Hindu report. The police reportedly asserted that the KRV workers wouldn't be allowed into Belagavi and take part in a protest rally.