Uppinangady : The 18th district Kannada Sahitya Sammelan was inaugurated at Uppinangady on February 1, Friday by veteran writer Kamala Hampana.

In her address, she said one should have a strong vision for unification of Karnataka and added there should be no talks of division or bifurcation of the state.

Presiding over the sammelan, veteran scholar Shimantur Narayan Shetty said  youngsters should inculcate the habit of reading good literature. It is only then can we have quality writers, he said. He further added Tulu language would have developed had there been a Tulunad on the lines of the states of the other four languages out of the five Dravidian languages.

Prior to the function, a Kannada Bhuvaneshwari Procession was taken out in the town, Local GP Chief Nalinakshi Shetty inaugurated the procession.

Mukhyamantri Chandru, Kannada Development Authority President, Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP, Mallika Prasad, Puttur MLA, Kerala unit President SV Bhat, Puttur AC H Prasanna, D Harshendra Kumar, DK district Sahitya Parishat President Pradeep Kumar Kalkura, Puttur taluk unit President Varadaraja Chandragiri,  Former Sammelan Chairperson Taltaje Vasanth Kumar, former District Sahitya Parishat President  Harikrishna Punaroor, Udupi District Sahitya Parishat President  Surendra Adiga,and others were present.

Eminent scholars Kainthaje Narasimha Bhat, Prof.VB Arthikaje,  Dr N Sukumar Gowda, Dr D Sadashiv Bhat, Dr Fr William Robert D’Silva  and  Keshava Jogittaya were honoured on the occasion.