Bangalore: 'Govt to Rename Konkani Sahitya Academy' - Minister

Inputs and pics by Akash Poojari Polali

Bangalore, Aug 27: Government will consider dropping the word ‘Sahitya ‘from Konkani Sahitya Academy’s name so that the activities the body does not get restricted to literature alone, Kannada and cultural minister Mahadev Prasad said.
 
He was responding to a proposal put forward from academy President Eric Ozario after inaugurating Konkani Konkani Sangithothsava at Gurunanak Bhavan here on Sunday August 27 night.
 
Ozario argued that renaming the academy on the lines of Karnataka Urdu academy, would enable it to work for a broad-based development of the language.

Ozario thanked the State Government for increasing the annual allocation to the academy to Rs 20 lac and introducing Konkani as a third language in Schools in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. Konkani academy is the only other academy, besides the Kodava Academy, that had used all its funds in the last financial year, he pointed out.
 
The academy released a collection of profiles of 100 eminent Konkani personalities drawn from diverse fields.
 
Also present on the occasion were Catholic Federation Chairman Valerian Fernandes, academy registrar H Shivarudrappa, member Gabriel Vaz and FKCA general secretary Charles Gomes.