Controversies that dominated headlines in Udupi

Controversies that dominated headlines in Udupi

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Jan 02, 2018: Recalling controversies which dominated the headlines in Udupi district in 2017, just passsed.

 

The event which made the most headlines was the holding of the Souharda Upahara Koota or Iftaar at the Annabrahma Dining Hall in the Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple complex here, where a gathering of Muslims broke their Ramzan fast on June 24, 2017.

Held for the first time in the complex by Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Paryaya Pejawar Mutt, expectedly, the right wing groups opposed it despite the seer’s explanation that it was done only to promote harmony among communities.

The Dharma Sansad held here from November 24 to 26 saw the congregation of sants and sadhus who demanded the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya and a ban on cow slaughter.

The Pejawar seer said that the temple would be built by 2019.

Udupi DC Priyanka Mary Francis, and Shilpa Nag, Assistant Commissioner, were attacked allegedly by those indulging in illegal sand extraction when they conducted a surprise raid on an extraction site at Kandlur village near Kundapur in the early hours of April 3. The police arrested seven persons immediately after the attack.

On February 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spoke through videoconferencing on the penultimate day of the eight-day 700th anniversary (Sapta Shatamanotsava) of Sri Madhwacharya (1238-1317) leaving for Badri in the Himalayas and making his exit after completing his spiritual journey, to a packed Rajangana hall, here, and said that the saints in the country could play a vital role in removing corruption and promoting environmental protection.

On June 18, former President Pranab Mukherjee unveiled a plaque to mark the laying of the foundation stone for the A. Shambhu Shetty Memorial Haji Abdullah Super Speciality Hospital here amid protests by some organisations that argued that the land donated by the philanthropist, late Haji Abdulla Saheb, to the District Government Maternity Hospital, should not be leased to private parties.

On November 19, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurated the Koosamma Shambhu Shetty Memorial Haji Abdulla Maternity and Children’s Hospital here amid protests, and said that the hospital would provide free, quality healthcare service to the poor.

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe visited the Sri Mookambika Temple at Kollur and participated in the Shata Chandi Havana on November 21 making him the first foreign head of government to visit the temple. The former President Pranab Mukherjee also visited the same temple on June 18.

Udupi district was declared as Open Defecation-Free by CM  Siddaramaiah on November 19.

Courtesy: The Hindu