Endless agitation for Dharwad Municipal Corporation suspended till July 8

BJP and Congress leaders engaged in a heated exchange of words during a meeting called in Dharwad on Monday to decide the next course of action on the municipal corporation demand. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The endless agitation seeking bifurcation of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation to form a municipal corporation for Dharwad going on for the past 25 days has now been suspended till July 8.

A decision to this effect was taken after a discussion with representatives of various organizations and political party leaders at the Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha in Dharwad on Monday.

Activist, advocate and president of Separate Municipal Corporation agitation committee BD Hiremath announced this at the agitation venue.

However, while announcing the decision, Mr. Hiremath clarified that the agitation is temporarily suspended but will continue till the formation of a municipal corporation for Dharwad.

“Since a new government has been formed, more time is needed for decision-making and file transfers at the government level. In view of this, the agitation is suspended, but awareness of the issue and providing necessary information to the government will continue,” he said.

Mr. Hiremath also announced that if the new government fails to act on the matter and carve out a municipal corporation for Dharwad by July 8, then they will be forced to continue their unrestricted day and night agitation from July 9.

Earlier, at a meeting called at the Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha to decide on the next course of action, local BJP and Congress leaders almost came to blows as they debated whether to continue the agitation or call it off.

When the situation seemed out of control, Mr. Hiremath intervened. He was then forced to move the meeting to the site of the protest.

Congress leaders Shivashankar Hampannavar and Nagaraj Gouri, who participated in the discussion, told the meeting that the Chief Minister’s office had written to Mr. Hiremath seeking time to decide on the matter.

Consequently, it will be better to suspend the agitation, give some time to the government and in case of failure of any action, continue the agitation, they suggested.

However, their proposal was not acceptable to BJP leaders like Shiva Hiremath and others, who reminded the Congress leaders of their statement to issue the order within 48 hours of the Governor’s approval of the bifurcation resolution. They wanted the meeting to set a deadline of 15 days.

When the disagreement between the leaders of the two parties heated up and resulted in a war of words, Mr. Hiremath intervened to calm them down.

Senior advocate CS Neginahal also appealed to the participants not to politicize the issue. However, the two party leaders once again engaged in a verbal spat and at one point almost came to blows.

An agitated Mr. Hiremath announced the shift of the meeting venue to the protest site where he announced the suspension of the agitation till July 8.

Earlier, activist and former bureaucrat Venkatesh Machakanur mentioned that Urban Development Minister Yatindra Siddaramaiah is positive about forming a municipal corporation for Dharwad and stressed the need for a united fight.

Activist Manoj Patil expressed dismay at the Congress-BJP fight and stressed the need for a united fight. Janata Dal(S) President Gururaj Hunasimarad spoke of focusing on the work to be done at the government level.

The meeting was attended by a number of activists including Mahadev Horatti, Vittal Kammara, Ravi Malager, Vijay Shettar and others, Mayor Jyoti Patil and several councilors of HDMC.

Published – 08 Jun 2026 20:13 IST