Laxmi Hebbalkar asks police to permit folk sport Koli Anka sans betting in Udupi district

Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar directs district police to permit Koli Anka, a folk sport of coastal Karnataka, with no betting. Warns of serious action if projects are delayed. Urges impounding of water in remaining 343 vented dams. Asks departments to extend Gruhalakshmi scheme benefits to Koraga and Malekudiya families.

Udupi district in-charge Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar on Friday, November 24, directed the district police to permit the conduct of Koli Anka (rooster fight), the folk sport of the coastal Karnataka, in the district.

Responding to the demand by Manjunatha Bhandary, MLC, at the Karnataka Development Programme review meeting in Udupi, Ms. Hebbalkar, however, said the police should ensure no betting takes place during Koli Anka or Korida Katta, as the sport is called in Tulu. As of now, Koli Anka is a banned event and the police raid spots whenever they get information about it being conducted.

Reviewing progress of various works and schemes in the tri-monthly meeting, Ms. Hebbalkar cautioned officials of serious action if there was any delay in implementing projects. There should be coordination between different departments. Expressing displeasure over not taking up the outer fishing harbour work at Maravanthe, reconstruction of Gangolli fishing harbour and dredging of the Kodi navigation channel on technical grounds, she directed the Ports Department to complete the project in coordination with the Coastal Zone Management Authority.

Ms. Hebbalkar asked officials to prepare in advance to face the imminent drinking water scarcity in the district. She told them to start impounding water in the remaining 343 vented dams while impounding was already done in 357 dams. The Varahi drinking water project for Udupi city should be completed by February, she added.

The Minister asked departments concerned to launch a special campaign to extend the benefits of the Gruhalakshmi scheme to Koraga and Malekudiya families in the district. Of the 3.12 lakh total families in the district, 1.83 lakh women heads were benefiting from the scheme, she said adding all eligible families should be covered.

MLAs Yashpal Suvarna, V. Sunil Kumar, Gururaj Shetty Gantihole, A. Kiran Kumar Kodgi and Gurme Suresh Shetty, Deputy Commissioner K. Vidyakumari, zilla panchayat CEO H. Prasanna, Superintendent of Police K. Arun, Additional DC G.S. Mamatha Devi, Divisional Forest Officer Ganapathi, and others were present.