Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) members took out a protest rally in Belagavi on Monday, seeking the merger of border areas with Maharashtra and fulfilment of other demands.
The protesters walked from Sambhaji Chowk in the Old City to the Deputy Commissioner’s office shouting slogans against the Karnataka Government. They said that it had denied all rights and protection that was to be accorded to linguistic minorities.
They demanded that the State Government issue an order demarcating Belagavi and some towns and villages in Uttara Kannada and Bidar district as Marathi-dominated areas. All government records such as electoral rolls, government orders and land records should be provided in Marathi language. They tried to remove the barricades put up by the police near Bogarves. But the police dispersed them and put up the barricades again. This led to traffic jams in some areas in the Old City.
Later, a delegation of leaders submitted a memorandum to the DC. They also demanded permission to observe November 1 as Black Day.
