Palemar unveils bronze statue of Dr. Ambedkar

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, June 12: The bronze statue of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution, was unveiled in the premises of Town Hall today by District-in-charge Minister Krishna J. Palemar.

Palemar said that the state government is committed to the development of people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Schedules Tribes and has already provided housing sites to homeless Dalits, title deeds to those residing on revenue land for several years, scholarships to Dalit students, self-employment, development of basic amenities, and so on.















Lauding the MCC for its concern for Dalit welfare, Palemar urged Mayor Praveen Anchan and the MCC commission to issue title deeds to Dalits who have been living on revenue and private land for a long time. He also urged the Dalits to make use of all the facilities available to them.

Deputy Speaker N. Yogish Bhat said in his presidential address that a blue print of Ambedkar Bhavan, which is scheduled to be constructed at the cost of Rs. 9 crore, has already been submitted to the social welfare department.

MCC Commissioner Dr. K. N. Vijayaprakash said that the MCC has four schemes for SC/ST development—construction of two multistoried buildings worth Rs. 1.20 crore for paura karmikas, special training centres for SC/ST students, two SC/ST colonies, and professional and vocational training for SC/ST communities.

The district-in-charge minister felicitated the architects of the statue B. C. Shivakumar of Bangalore, Gopalaswamy of Bidar, and R. Shrinivas of Kolar on the occasion.

A huge rally featuring singing of patriotic songs, puppet shows, musical bands, and so on was held just before the unveiling ceremony.

Dr. P. L. Dharma, the chairman of the political science department of Mangalore University; Praveen Anchan, the mayor of Mangalore; Geetha N. Nayak, the deputy mayor of Mangalore; Lancelot Pinto, the president of the MCC Standing Committee on Urban Development as well as MCC opposition leader; MLA U. T. Khader; MP Nalin Kumar Kateel; MLC Ganesh Karnik; and other MCC corporators were also present.