The people of Karwar, Hallyal, Supe and Joida blocks in Uttar Kannada district speak Konkani like the Goans and share cultural traditions with them.
The Konkan Marathi Parishad has decided to articulate the demand for merger of these areas through an All India Marathi Literary and Cultural Conference, slated for January next year. “Like the Goans, their counterparts in Karwar, Joida, Supe and Hallyal speak Konkani but their written communication is in Marathi. They are culturally closer to the people of Goa than Maharashtra,” said former Union minister Ramakant Khalap.
The 856 villages in the four blocks forming part of Belgaum, Nippani and Karwar areas had sought merger with Maharashtra during the linguistic reorganisation of states.
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