Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna, who could not make it to the World Kannada Conference being held at Detroit in US, inaugurated it from Bangalore using a video conferencing facility.

Krishna addressed the gathering both in Kannada and English for about 30 minutes from 20:00 hours on August 31 night from his home office through the video conferencing system, a release from the Chief Minister's office said. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) had arranged the linking, it said.

Krishna's speech was received with applause from the non-resident Kannadigas, who had gathered in large numbers, the release said.

He had to cancel US trip following the prevailing draught conditions and the sudden crisis created by the former minister H Nagappa's abduction by forest brigand Veerappan.

In his speech, he assured the Kannadigas in US that he would make it to the next World Kannada Conference.

PTI