Mangaluru: The central government has taken all steps to affectively counter the fresh application moved by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in the Supreme Court against allowing Kambala sport, said union minister for statistics and programme implementation, D V Sadananda Gowda (DVS). There is no question of sacrificing Kambala, a sport that depicts rich culture of coastal Karnataka, he assured.
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Speaking to media persons at his residence in the city on Saturday October 6th Mr Gowda said, “There is likelihood of PETA case coming up for hearing before the Supreme Court on Monday. On behalf of the central government, steps have been taken to save Kambala. Discussions have been held with the attorney general of the central government about the steps needed to be taken to stand our ground. Actions needed to be taken by the state government would be discussed with the advocate general and law minister of the state,” he said.
“We will fight with all our might to retain Kambala. If necessary, we will make efforts to save Kambala even if a new law needs to be enacted for the purpose,” he said.
Speaking about the argument of PETA representatives that buffalos are tortured during Kambala races, the minister said that the sticks are held by the buffalo runners was a symbolic gesture and not to punish the animals. Those who oppose Kambala are playing with the sentiments of the people of Dakshina Kannada, Kasargod, and Udupi districts and inflicting mental agony on them, he observed.
The minister felt that a few amendments need to be made in the current Kambala bill. The clause about not racing the buffalos when the outside temperature is over 37 degrees needs to be amended as this temperature is normally found in coastal districts in summer, he said. There is no need to specify the length of the Kambala fields, he added.
Depending on the stand of the court, discussions would be held with the law minister of the state about modifications needed, he said.
Kambala Samiti
Seetaram Shetty, convener of the district Kambala Samiti said that the Samiti has designed the stick being handled by the concerned by adding two 2″ x 6″ foam strips at two places to the other end of the stick so that even if the animals come in contact with the sticks, the animals do not suffer any pain. If necessary, these samples would be produced in the court, he added.
Yettinahole project
“My critics have been proven wrong. Being the chief minister of Karnataka, I was having the responsibility of mitigating water shortage. Rivers in the coast overflow during the rainy season, and water is lifted from the rivers only during this period under the said project,” said the minister.
Lok Sabha election
Mr Gowda said that said that he will again fight the coming Lok Sabha election from Bengaluru, but will always strive for the interests of coastal Karnataka. He added that as per indications, BJP will independently win over 300 Lok Sabha seats and predicted fall of the coalition government in the state before the election.
