This story is from November 23, 2020

Karnataka: Ballari residents rue losing Hampi to new district

Though Ballari is the district headquarter, it’s recognised among international tourists due to world heritage site Hampi. Now that Vijayanagar district is being carved out of Ballari, residents of the city say they will miss saying they are from the district which has Hampi.
Karnataka: Ballari residents rue losing Hampi to new district
BALLARI: Though Ballari is the district headquarter, it’s recognised among international tourists due to world heritage site Hampi. Now that Vijayanagar district is being carved out of Ballari, residents of the city say they will miss saying they are from the district which has Hampi.
VK Narasimha Murthy, a private employee, said that since his childhood, he had been saying he is from the district in which Hampi is located.
“Whenever we met people from other states and countries, we say we are from Ballari. When they ask more, we say Hampi is in our district. Then they immediately understand where the Ballari is. While Ballari may have made news in the national level due to mining and political developments recently, Hampi has been a cultural pride for us. That is why the stone chariot is seen in all logos of literary, cultural, social and government events in the district. Now my son Simha is worried that the chariot will vanish from the logos,” he added.
RM Naregal, a retired employee of NMDC, Donimalai, Sandur taluk, said that he feels as if the ownership of a great asset is being transferred. “Hampi may now fall in the new neighboring district, but it will remain in our hearts forever,” he said.
Ballari district Kannada Sahitya Parishat president Siddaram Kalmath said Hampi was the identity of the whole Ballari district, which was retained in Karnataka after stringent struggle during the Karnataka unification movement. “Hampi had been a strong weapon to save Kannada and Karnataka’s land in the border. Now, we don’t know what the future of Kannada language and land will be in the district in the future,” he added.
Tapal Ganesh, a mine owner and activist, said the names Hampi and Vijayanagara have been attached with Ballari residents. “That is why one can see hotels, restaurants, provision store and other business establishments here named after Hampi, Vijayanagara and other words related to Hampi’s history and Tungabhadra reservoir, from where we get drinking water,” he said.
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