MLAs have urged Karnataka CM to divide Belagavi district: Minister

All the MLAs from Belagavi have appealed to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to divide the district into smaller parts for administrative convenience. “Now, it is for the State Government and the CM to take a decision,” Satish Jarkiholi, PWD Minister and district in-charge minister, told reporters in Chikkodi after hearing grievances of people on March 4.

“The demand for a separate Chikkodi district is decades old. It is a very valid demand. During the winter session of the Assembly in Belagavi, all the MLAs from Belagavi district met the CM, and urged him to create smaller districts. I requested him to create three districts. He listened to us patiently. Now, it is for him to act,” he said.

To a query, he said that this was not a decision that needed to be announced in the budget. “It is an administrative decision and can be announced even after the budget,” he said.

Release of water from Hidkal dam

He said that following demands by farmers, it was decided to continuing release of water from Hidkal dam to the Chikkodi sub-canal till March 12. Earlier, it was decided to stop release of water by March 7. “This will help the rabi crop,” the Minister said.

Inspects progress of work on bridges, visits school

Earlier, he inspected construction work of Lolsur bridge, repair of the Ghataprabha bridge, and visited the Morarji Desai residential school in Ghataprabha.

He said the Lolsur bridge across the Ghataprabha river in Lolsur (Lolasur) village near Gokak would come up at a cost of ₹30.21 crore. “It will replace a British-era bridge that is regularly submerged during floods. Apart from facilitating the smooth movement of vehicles, it will avoid the problem of inundation, as it is being built at a higher elevation,” the Minister said.

He inspected the new bridge being constructed across the Ghataprabha Canal near Ghataprabha town on the Sankeshwar-Yargatti state highway. He instructed the officials to complete work on a temporary bridge as soon as possible to avoid any disruption to vehicular traffic on the busy state highway. “The progress of work on the new four-lane, 18.5-meter-wide bridge is satisfactory,” he said.

PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi visited the Morarji Desai residential school in Ghataprabha on March 4, 2026.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

He visited the Morarji Desai residential school in Ghataprabha, inspected the infrastructure, and interacted with the students. He obtained information from officials about the school’s infrastructure, accommodation, and quality of education. He asked students if they faced any problem, and asked them to follow their dreams.