Amid accusations of attempt to draw political mileage out of the ongoing indefinite agitation for bifurcation of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) to carve out municipal corporation for Dharwad, Congress MLA from Hubballi-Dharwad East Constituency Prasad Abbayy met the members of the agitation committee on Monday and extended his support to them.

The agitation by the Separate Municipal Corporation Agitation Committee is for seeking early assent from Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot for a proposal on HDMC bifurcation sent by the State government so as to facilitate the creation of a municipal corporation for Dharwad. And, it entered the 11th day on Monday.

Rubbishing allegations of politicising the issue, Mr. Abbayya said that they have no interest in politicising the issue.

Mr. Abbayya said that the HDMC bifurcation proposal has not received the Governor’s assent because of political reasons.

“The proposal sent by the State government is before the Governor. We believe that a municipal corporation will facilitate the development of Dharwad and we request the Governor to approve of the proposal at the earliest to meet the aspirations of the people of Dharwad,” he said.

Meanwhile, the agitation received support from members of Vishwakarma community and North Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce who took out a protest march from Jubilee Circle to the protest venue.

They submitted a letter extending support to advocate B.D. Hiremath, who is one among those leading the agitation.

President of the Akhila Karnataka Vishwakarma Mahasabha president Kalappa Badiger said that the Governor is unnecessarily delaying giving approval to the proposal sent by the State government.

He urged the Governor to give immediate approval to the proposal.

Community leader Vasanth Arkachar said that from an administrative perspective, a new corporation for Dharwad is a must and the Governor should act as per Constitutional norms.

President of North Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce Manjunath Hagedar said that a new corporation will help in addressing local issues more effectively and hence, the Governor should approve of the proposal.

Awareness campaign

In a related development, members of the agitation committee and others have launched an awareness campaign to sensitise the general public on the issue.

They pasted posters on autorickshaws, buses and other public vehicles near Kadapa Maidan regarding the bike rally and also, the proposed Dharwad bandh scheduled for Friday and Saturday.