Amid differences over Karnataka Government’s plan to create a new Vijayanagara district by carving out six taluks from Ballari, senior Congress leader G Parameshwara on Monday requested Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to consider creation of another new district by bifurcating Tumakuru.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, Parameshwara proposed announcement of Madhugiri district consisting of Pavagada, Madhugiri, Koratagere and Sira taluks.
Stating that geographically Madhugiri taluk is large and has sub-divisions of various government departments along with additional district court, he said, “Madhugiri can be converted into a district, and it has been a long standing demand of the people of the region to announce it as a district.”
The request for creation of separate Madhugiri district has come amid voices both in favour and against the government’s proposal for bifurcation of Ballari district.
Much to the concern of the Yediyurappa government, several BJP leaders like Minister B Sriramulu, MLAs Somashekar Reddy and Karunakara Reddy were against the division of Ballari. Realising the intensity of the issue, Yediyurappa on Saturday had said he would convene a meeting of MLAs from Ballari to discuss on the issue. Voicing Opposition to the move, Somashekar Reddy said, “any approval for a separate Vijayanagara district will ignite a fire. We will not allow it to happen.”