97th birth anniversary of late D. Devaraj Urs observed in city

97th birth anniversary of late D. Devaraj Urs observed in city

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Aug 20, 2012: The district administration, the SC/ST Welfare Department, and the Zilla Panchayat jointly observed the 97th birth anniversary of late D. Devaraj Urs, former chief minister, at Nethravathi Hall in Urwa on August 20, Monday. 

K. T. Shailaja Bhat, president of the ZP, inaugurated the event and showered rose petals on the portrait of late D. Devaraj Urs.

Prizes were distributed among the winners of an essay competition on the life of Devaraj Urs held for students of all age groups. The organizers also felicitated student achievers on this occasion. 

In her address, Ms. Bhat said that Mr. Urs gave top priority to land reform and equalized land distribution. Stating that Mr. Urs played an important role in launching successful land re-distribution programs in the country, she said that this program broke the power of Vokkaligas and Lingayaths, who were previously the most powerful land owners in Karnataka. 

She also spoke of other schemes implemented by Urs, such as construction of shelters for migrant workers, forgiveness of rural debts, and schemes to have light bulbs in all houses. Stating that the late Mr. Urs considered caste system as a great tragedy, she said that he worked hard for the eradication of the caste system. He also distributed land among landless labourers and worked hard to provide houses to the homeless through the Garibi Hatao scheme, she added. 

MLA U. T. Khader, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Yogish Bhat, Janardhan Gowda, Chennappa Kotian, ZP CEO Dr. Vijayaprakash, ADC Dayananda, and many others were also present.