BELGAUM: Barring a few incidents of stone-pelting, the 56th Karnataka Rajyotsava was celebrated with fervour on Tuesday throughout the district, despite a bandh call given by pro-Maharashtra groups, which elicited only a poor response in Marathi dominated areas.Though the city witnessed two huge processions -- one in favour and the other against the Rajyotsava -- the day passed off peacefully. The Kannadigas’ procession which was flagged off at 9 am by District Minister Umesh Katti on the DC’s office premises, ended at around 6 pm. Thousands of youths, with Kannada flags in hands, caps on head and shawls on shoulders, took part in the procession.The pro-Maharashtra groups’ bike rally commenced at Sambhaji Udyan and ended at Maratha Mandir. Participants wore black dress to mark their protest and shouted slogans demanding merger of Belgaum and other Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka with Maharashtra.They also shouted slogans against Belgaum South BJP MLA Abhay Patil and Belgaum Rural MLA Sanjay Patil.BCC Mayor Manda Balekundri, who was the chairman of the Rajyotsava Sub-Committee, stayed away from the Rajyotsava procession, and participated in the rally taken out by the pro-Maharashtra groups, including the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES). Her deputy Renu Killekar and ruling group leader in Belgaum City Corporation Sambhajirao Patil also stayed away from the Rajyotsava procession, and were seen in the MES rally.Pro-Maharashtra organisations, including MES, Marathi Yuva Manch and Shiv Sena appealed to the Marathri-speaking people in Belgaum, Nippani and Khanapur to observe bandh. Commercial establishments in Nippani and Khanapur towns remained closed for about two hours. Miscreants in the rally pelted stones on a hoarding of an Insurance Company on which advertisement was written in Kannada.
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