Amid a cheering crowd and a host of politicians and top bureaucrats, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa flagged off Hampi Utsav-2020 by offering flowers to Sri Bhuvaneshwari and lighting a lamp at the main stage here on Friday evening.
“Each and every stone of Hampi speaks of the glory of the Vijayanagar Empire. As a foreign traveller wrote in his travelogue, Vijayanagar was like heaven on earth. Art, architect, music and literature flourished and reached their peak during the Vijayanagar rule. Hampi still stands as a symbol of that glorious tradition. Monuments of Hampi have earned the World Heritage Site tag and they attract a large number of tourists from across the world. We all have to join hands to protect these historical monuments,” Mr. Yediyurappa said, while addressing the large crowd.
Reiterating his government’s commitment to ensuring welfare of the people, the Chief Minister said that the government had effectively taken up relief and rehabilitation of flood victims. He also expressed his desire to initiate pro-farmer initiatives, including offering scientific minimum support prices to farm produces.
“The reservoirs in the State are overflowing thanks to the heavy rainfall and there would be no problem of water scarcity for the next two years. We are going to announce many pro-farmer projects and schemes in the next budget that I am going to present on March 5,” he said.
Later, the Chief Minister unveiled a watershed development project by watering the model.
People from Hosapete had expected the Chief Minister to announce the formation of a new Vijayanagar district with Hosapete as its headquarters by carving out six taluks from Ballari district. The Chief Minister, however, did not make any statement about the demand, leaving a large number of people from Hosapete, who had gathered in large number for the inaugural session, disappointed.
Later, in his presidential remarks, Vijayanagar MLA Anand Singh, who had been trying to persuade the government to bifurcate Ballari district to form the new Vijayanagar district, openly expressed his disappointment over the silence of the Chief Minister on the issue.
“The formation of a new Vijayanagar district is a long-pending demand. I request the Chief Minister to fulfil it at the earliest,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister and Ballari in-charge Laxman Savadi, Tourism, Kannada and Culture and Sugar Minister C.T. Ravi, Health Minister B. Sriramulu, Lok Sabha members Karadi Sanganna and Y. Devendrappa, legislators Somashekhar Reddy, Allum Veerabhadrappa, K.C. Kondaiah and others were present.
Stage performances that began in the early evening continued to enthral and entertain the cheering crowd till late in the night.
