BANGALORE: After the Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) decided to shift the venue of its 81st sammelana from Haveri district, Shravanabelagola (Hassan district) and Gulbarga have emerged as the top contenders for hosting the prestigious literary event.
The venue will be finalised on November 16 at a meeting in Belur.
At the last sammelana at Madikeri, the parishat had announced that Ranibennur in Haveri district will host the next edition in February 2015. However, this was opposed by a some people, who demanded that the convention be held in the district headquarters Haveri. The core committee which met last Monday failed to arrive at a solution and decided to shift the venue.
KSP president Pundalika Halambi told Express on Wednesday that the district Sahitya Parishat units of Hassan and Gulbarga want to host the event. “We might host it at Shravanabelagola or Gulbarga. The Bangalore city unit is also urging us to hold the event in Bangalore, as the state capital played host to the event in 2010,” he said.
Mahipal Reddy Munnur, president of Gulbarga district KSP, said the district has been seeking to host the convention for the last three years.
The last time the district hosted the event was in 1987 with Siddaiah Puranik as sammelana president, he said.
He said former Union minister Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also the Gulbarga MP, has written to Pundalika Halambi urging him to hold the convention in Gulbarga district.
Many writers in Gulbarga feel that holding the convention in the district will help create awareness and unity among people, especially at a time when there is a demand for a separate statehood for the region.
Sources in KSP said there is a request from Shravanabelagola Seer Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swamiji to host the sammelana at Shravanabelagola.