BELAGAVI: Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations began in this border district since midnight itself with Kannada groups organising various events at Rani Chennamma Circle.
The celebration began with cutting of a cake and there were cultural programmes by young children. Fireworks added to the fervour of the celebration.
On Tuesday morning, the Kannada flag was hoisted at the district stadium and a huge procession of tableaux was taken out. A 10,000-foot-long Kannada flag was also taken out in the procession. Meals with holige were also organised for about one lakh people by the Hukkeri Hiremath at the Sardar Maidan.
Elsewhere, two state transport buses were decorated with flowers, Kannada flags, portraits of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari and late actor Puneeth Rajkumar.
Meanwhile, the Black Day programme organised by the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) saw poor response with only a handful turning up. The activists had invited Shiv Sena leaders to Belagavi, but the police had created checkposts at the border villages.
Kolhapur Shiv Sena district president Vijay Devane tried to enter Belagavi from the Kuganolli checkpost but was turned away by the police.