More than 50 Shiv Sena workers travelling from Maharashtra to Belagavi for a protest event were stopped at the Koganoli checkpost on the Karnataka–Maharashtra border on Sunday, turning Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations into a fresh inter-state public-order issue.
The group was led by Vijay Devane, president of the Kolhapur district unit of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena. Karnataka police stopped the workers at the border and handed them over to police from the Kagal station in Kolhapur district, according to a report by Prajavani.
The workers were travelling to Belagavi to participate in a ‘Black Day’ observance organised in opposition to Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations. The event reflects the continuing political and administrative sensitivity of Belagavi and adjoining border areas, where competing claims over Marathi- and Kannada-speaking regions have periodically led to rallies, demonstrations and preventive police action.
Despite not receiving permission from the district administration, activists of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti held a Black Day programme in Belagavi. Participants conducted a rally from Sambhaji Udyan on Mahadwar Road through Shahapur’s SPM Road, Mahatma Phule Road and Basaveshwar Circle before proceeding to the Marathi Mandir Kalyan Mantap near the railway overbridge.
During the rally, participants raised slogans seeking the merger of Belagavi, Khanapur, Bidar, Bhalki, Karwar and Nipani with Maharashtra. The report also said the organisers alleged that the Kalyana Karnataka region was being treated unfairly in development matters. The claims were made during the protest and were not independently assessed in the supplied report.
Police also detained several leaders, including social activist M.S. Patil Naribol, who had planned to hoist a separate state flag at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Circle. They were later released. The action followed the administration’s refusal to permit the proposed event.
The border intervention came as Karnataka observed Rajyotsava programmes across the state. District administrations held flag-hoisting ceremonies, parades and cultural events in places including Dharwad, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Vijayapura, Gadag, Chikkaballapur, Kalaburagi, Kodagu, Udupi, Koppal, Mysuru, Raichur and Tumakuru.
At the Dakshina Kannada programme in Mangaluru, District Minister in charge U.T. Khader said the district needed to prepare for the effects of climate variability, including possible drinking-water stress from January and higher heat conditions. In Udupi, Minister Rizwan Arshad said the administration had decided to develop an entertainment park and sports facilities on 7.07 acres at a cost of ₹48 crore at Trasi and Maravanthe beaches.
The border-related events underline the role of district administrations and police in managing movement, permissions and public assemblies during politically sensitive commemorations. The supplied report does not provide details of any further restrictions, arrests or legal proceedings after the detained workers were handed over to Kolhapur police.
