Housing Minister V Somanna on Monday said that land will be provided to Karnataka Telugu Academy to set up an institution for the development of Telugu language and culture in the state.
Speaking at a programme organised by the academy to mark the 90th birth anniversary of N T Rama Rao, late actor and chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, he said, “The contribution of Telugu people to Karnataka is immense. It was the movement in Andhra Pradesh that inspired Kannadigas to launch regional parties. In the past, Telugu people had approached us to set up an institution, but it did not work out. Now I assure you that a piece of land will be identified for the purpose in Surya Nagar. The Housing Board has already developed 10,000 sites there and has sold 5,500 sites with proper documents. The institution can apply and the government will do its best to help the Telugu Academy to make a mark here.”
Appreciating V Somanna’s gesture, Dr A Radhakrishna Raju, chairman of Karnataka Telugu Academy, said, “Karnataka has the largest Telugu population after Andhra Pradesh. We have no difficulty in understanding Kannada. Both the state governments have a lot in common in terms of culture and tradition. The Academy will grow many fold in the coming years and will make Karnataka a well recognised and well developed state with Telugu people’s contribution.”
The academy presented Dr N T Rama Rao National Award to Kannada actor-producer Dwarakish and actress Malashri in recognition of their services to the film world. Speaking after receiving the award, both the artistes showed their multilingual skills and thanked the Academy. They also released Smruthi Darshini, a DVD on legendary actress Savitri.
Former minister M Raghupati, industrialist from Vijayawada Koganti Satyanarayana and former chairman of the Karnataka Film Industries Development Corporation R V Harish were present.