Mangaluru milk union work one hour extra as homage to Kalam

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru: July 29, 2015: Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited (DKCMPUL) paid a meaningful tribute to former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam, who passed away on Monday.

As a mark of respect to the departed leader, the 255 employees at the union worked an extra hour on Tuesday.

Union president Raviraj Hedge said that the employees wanted to pay tribute in a unique way to Kalaam who deemed that work was worship. Kalam had said once: "Don’t declare holiday on my death, instead work an extra day if you love me."

Honouring his words, the union employees on Tuesday left office at 6.30pm instead of at 5.30pm, and worked an extra hour. "This is the least we could do to pay tribute to a great leader who was loved by all and was an inspiration many. It is unfortunate that Kalam could not get a second term due to political wrangling," Hedge said.

Kalaam was no stranger to this part of the state. He had visited the coast five times since 2009 and his last visit was in 2014. During his first visit in February 2009, he visited Dr Shivaram Karantha Biological Park at Pilikula Nisargadhama, Moodushedde. Jayaprakash Bhandary, director of the park, had said Kalam had advised the park authorities to ensure that more trees are grown in the area. Appreciating the forest-like atmosphere of the park, Kalam told them to hold more interactive programmes about the zoo and its various facilities for children. Bhandary said Kalam had also expressed his intent to come back to the biological park for a more leisurely visit at a later date.

Kalaam’s faith in humans was at display during an interactive session at Yenepoya University in 2014. To a query whether robots would replace humans in all tasks, Kalam had said that computers can replace anything except innovation. "By 2019, a personal computer will have the memory size of a human brain.

By 2050, the memory space of a computer will be equal to that of the entire population of the World. Computer will be used in all spheres of the World, but not in innovation," he had said. That year, he was in the city to take part in an interactive session with students on electoral participation at the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme.