Mysore/Mysuru: The Corona Warriors were overwhelmed and motivated by the honour they received for their service during the pandemic, after one of their community members (a Doctor) was chosen to inaugurate this year’s Dasara festivities and a few others feted during the inaugural of the simple yet traditional Dasara. These real life heroes were remembered and honoured for their services yet again at a private ceremony by a Gram Panchayat (GP) Member in Bogadi village on the city outskirts.

While many are worried of not being able to celebrate wedding ceremonies on a large and grand scale due to the COVID guidelines, GP Member M. Nagaraju and Shashikala couple, took this opportunity in a positive way and celebrated their daughter’s wedding yesterday by felicitating Corona Warriors who are working day-in and day-out during the pandemic.

Nagaraju, who is the former Director of Karnataka Rajya Grahakara Mahamandali and Director of Sri Nagalingeshwara Multipurpose Co-operative Society, had earlier served as the GP President and Vice-President.

The marriage of Nagaraju’s second daughter N. Rashmi, a B.Sc graduate, with G. Naveen, a Forest Guard at Gopalaswamy Hill Range coming under Bandipur Tiger Reserve, was fixed two months ago. The ‘Dhara Muhurtha’ was held at GLN Convention Hall on Bogadi Ring Road here this morning and at the pre-wedding reception held yesterday, over 100 COVID Warriors (from Mysuru, Kodagu and Chamarajanagar) received the honours and blessed the newly wed. The groom is the son of Mahadevamma and late Gopal of Anasaale village in Malavalli of Mandya district.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Nagaraju, said, “I always wanted help and honour people involved in serving the society. Hence, I had decided to celebrate my daughter’s wedding such that it sets a good example to the society.”

On why he chose COVID Warriors for this occasion, Nagaraju said that he had witnessed how Corona positive persons were isolated from everyone and even their family members were unable to take care. And at such trying times when our own family members had to stay away, Pourakarmikas were serving selflessly. Hence, I decided to honour all categories of Corona Warriors including Doctors, Nurses, Pourakarmikas, Lab Technicians, Police and Journalists. And only after conveying my wish to celebrate my daughter’s wedding in a meaningful manner and requesting them to attend the wedding, I published names of those Corona Warriors in the invitation, he added.

The invitation comprised the names of 124 persons.

Nagaraju said that the groom too had responded in a positive way when he (Nagaraju) expressed his wish to celebrate his daughter’s wedding in a unique way rather than grand manner and motivate others too by felicitating Corona Warriors.

Stating that he was an ardent fan of former CM Siddharamaiah and had invited him too to the wedding ceremony, Nagaraju said that Siddharamaiah appreciated his decision but said that he was unable to attend the wedding due to by-polls code of conduct; However,  he will visit the couple and wish them when he is in Mysuru some other time, he added. Mentioning that he had given free service at his Flour Mills in Bogadi for those in need during the lockdown period, the GP Member said that the family had not accepted any gifts at the wedding and the newly wed took blessings from these special invitees.

The marriage was attended in batches by over 500 people including politicians and officials with mandatory masks and social distancing.

Corona Warriors feted at wedding Ex-servicemen

A.C. Appachu (Retd. Captain), Ramachandraiah Nayak (Ex-serviceman), Rangaraju (Ex-serviceman) and Mahadevaswamy (CRPF).

Security Staff: Kempegowda and H.P. Chinnanna (Kamakshi Hospital).

Pourakarmikas (Bogadi GP): Cheluvaraju, Palani Swamy, Bhuvanesh, Chamundi, Manjaiah, K. Nagaraju, Murugesh, Subramani, Rajashekar, P. Raju, Magali, Palani,  A. Nagaraju and Murthy & Raju (Drivers).

Savitha Samaja: Kumar and staff.

Vishwakarma: Lokesh (Former Vice-President, Bogadi Gram Panchayat), Kalachari and Basavarajachari.

Anganawadi workers: Suma, Nagarathna and Shwetha.

ASHA Activists: Jyothi, Leelavathi, Roopa, Veena, Yamuna and Vanajakshi.

Junior Woman Health Assistants: Sakamma and K.V. Rekha.

Postal Department: Shankar Nayak, Ramdas, Prasanna, Manju and Arjun.

Nurses: Rajamma, Pushpa, Bharathi, Dorathi, Shivaraju, Roopa, Baby, Sunanda, B.K. Krishnappa, Jayalakshmi and Renuka.

Education Department: Indrani, Head Mistress, Govt. Higher Primary School, Bogadi Village and staff; Roopa, HM, Maria Niketan High School and staff; Arokia Mary, HM, Maria Niketan Primary  School and staff.

Medical Officers: Dr. B. Krishnamurthy (Former Dean & Director – MMC&RI), Dr.  Nanjundaswamy (K.R. Hospital), Dr. Puttaswamy (retd. Professor – Orthopaedic Surgeon – MMC&RI), Dr. Sundarraj (Professor – ENT – AIISH), Dr. Manjunath (HOD – Anaesthesia – MMC&RI), Dr. Brahmendra (Civil Surgeon – K.R. Hospital), Dr. Chandrashekar (Senior Medical Officer), Dr. D. Jagannath (CMO – K.R. Hospital), Dr. R. Yogeesh (CMO – K.R. Hospital), Dr. D. Balaraj (Cardiologist – Jayadeva Hospital, Bengaluru),  Dr. Mahesh (Intensivist – ICU Specialist – Anagha Hospital), Dr. Shivakumar (HOD – Professor – AIIMS), Dr. I.K. Vinayaka (Neurosurgeon), Dr. Devaraj (Devi Nursing Home), Dr. Nalini (Devi Nursing Home), Dr. Charan (Manasi Clinic, Bogadi), Dr. Mamata (MO, Beerihundi), Dr. M.S. Shivaram (Kamakshi Hospital), Dr. Mahadeva (Kamakshi Hospital), Dr. Mukund Raj (Kamakshi Hospital), Dr. Dinesh Nayak (Kamakshi Hospital), Dr. N. Srinivas (Aadarsha Clinic, Bogadi), Dr. Ramesh (Dhanvantri Clinic, Bogadi), Dr. K.P. Mahesh (Mahesh Dental Clinic, Bogadi), Dr. H.C. Ravikiran (Ravikiran Dental Clinic, Bogadi) and   Dr. Vinay (JSS Hospital).

Police Department: Shivaraju (DCP, CAR, Mysuru), Sundarraju (Dy.SP, Hunsur), Srikanth (Police Inspector, Kollegal),  B.S. Prakash (Police Inspector, Ashokapuaram Station), Poovaiah (Police Inspector, Hunsur), Thimmaraju (Police Inspector), Rajanna (Police Inspector, Mandya), Harishkumar (Police Inspector, Madikeri), Vijay Kumar (Police Inspector, Saraswathipuram Station), Bhavya (Sub-Inspector, Saraswathipuram and Staff), Mahadev (HC, Ashokapuaram Station), Vijay (HC, Kuvempunagar Traffic Police Station), Ramesh (Driver – HC, Devaraja Station), Raju (HC, Kuvempunagar Traffic Police Station), Sundari (WHC, Alanahalli Station), Ramesh (HC, Cyber Crime), Girish (HC, Ashokapuram Station), Anandakumar (HC), Sridhar Murthy (HC), Guruswamy (ARSI – Training), Paul Samuel (ARSI), Chandru (HC, Devaraja Traffic Police Station), Kumaraswamy (HC, Nazarbad Station), Somashekar (ASI, Nazarbad Station), Devaraju (Kuvempunagar Traffic Police Station), Suresha (Kuvempunagar Traffic Police Station), Balakrishna Murali (Vijayanagar Station), Shankar Chakravarthi (HC, City Armed Reserve), Mahesh Pandit (HC, NR Traffic Police Station), Bannaiah (Retd. ASI), Padmanabha (Retd. ASI) and M.G. Dayakar (Retd. PSI, Railway).

Media Representatives: Diddahalli Raghu (Photographer), H.K. Chandru (Photographer, Vijayavani), Jayanth (Reporter, DD-1), Krishna (Reporter, Vijayavani), Raghavendra (Editor, Good News Kannada), Mahendra (Reporter, Kannada Prabha), Kabini Beeresh (Reporter, Vijaya Karnataka); M.T. Yogesh Kumar (Reporter, Mysuru Mithra); Yashas (Reporter, News 1); Ravichandra (Reporter, Andolana) and Ramu (Reporter, TV9).