Addressing a press conference in Bangalore on Monday, Kannada Development Authority Chairman Mukhyamantri Chandru said the Tamil Nadu government has instructed its advocates to impress upon petitioner R Gandhi to withdraw the PIL. The KDA, which is one of the respondents in the case, has been assured that the PIL will be withdrawn soon, he added.

Chandru said that withdrawal of the PIL will clear legal hurdles in receiving grants from the Centre. The State will also seek the advice of experts from Tamil Nadu on utilisation of funds. Tamil was awarded classical status in 2004.
He said KDA would also work towards putting in place the necessary logistics for utilisation of the grants. “There is potential to receive to around Rs 20 to Rs 25 crore from the Centre for research, setting university chairs, award of prizes among others,” he explained.

Kannada convention
The KDA will be organising a four-day convention to celebrate the “Essence of Kannada” in Shimoga from September 10.
The convention will have experts deliberate on the various dialects of Kannada, which vary from region to region in the State. The KDA is also planning to bring out a book compiling the deliberations of the convention and also a ‘dialects dictionary’.

As many as 150 experts will discuss the dialects in Uttara Kannada, Coastal Karnataka, Kodava Kannada, Kannada spoken in Tamil Nadu and Andhra boundary regions, among others, Chandru added.