Farmers urged not to commit suicide; Government committed for development of district: GTD

Mysuru: The 70th Republic Day celebrations, organised by District Administration, Zilla Panchayat (ZP) and  Police Department, was celebrated with patriotic spirit at Torch Light Parade Grounds in Bannimantap here yesterday.

State Higher Education and District Minister G.T. Devegowda (GTD) unfurled the National Flag and took salute after inspecting the parade.

In all, 23 contingents including armed forces, KSRP, City Armed Reserve, DAR, RPF, CISF, Traffic Police, Women’s Police, NCC, Scouts and Guides, Bharath Seva Dal, Mounted Police, Home Guards, Excise, Forests (both men and women), Fire and Emergency Service, took part in the march-past.

Police Public School, Kumbarkoppal Government High School, Deepa School, Boys Sevadal, Girls Sevadal, NCC (Army, Navy and Airforce) participated. The band section comprising an ensemble from the KSRP, DAR and CAR performed patriotic numbers.

Tableaux highlighting various development activities of different Departments were also part of the R-Day celebrations.  A special tableau by Election Commission of India highlighted the importance of voting to build robust democracy was the main attraction during the R-Day parade.

Panther Mysuru City Commandos, armed with Romanian Pm MD series, Browning Hi Power & Glock Pistol,  Bulgarian Arsenal M1F41 & OFB Excalibur Rifles, demonstrated an attractive anti-terror operation.

They also exhibited their skills in VVIPs rescue operations during terror attacks, drug emergencies and communally-sensitive incidents. These commandos were part of State Police’s Garuda Unit. The 25-member Force showcased their skills for the second time during R-Day Parade yesterday.

This full-fledged team is operational from February, 2018. The members of the team were drawn from various other existing Police Forces and this Force equipped with advanced arms and specialised training to deal with rough and hostile situations.

In his customary Republic Day address, District Minister GTD urged distressed farmers not to take hasty decision of committing suicide leaving their families in lurch, upset over mounting debt, crash in price, over nature fury and other reasons. He said that State Coalition Government had waived off the farmers loans to the tune of Rs.46,000 crore to mitigate the burden of farmers besides taking other measures to protect their interests.

The Government had also rolled out ‘Badavara Bandu’ scheme to prevent the street vendors and push-cart sellers from being exploited by private money lenders. The Government had launched the scheme in the Budget. Under the scheme, Rs.10,000 will be given to flower and fruit vendors and other micro businessmen to run or expand their business activities. They will be provided three months’ time to repay the loan. Once the loan is repaid, the beneficiary is eligible for a fresh loan, he said.

He, however, cautioned that any business activity which pollutes the city would not be supported under this scheme.

Volunteers of Sri Sumathi Jain Nava Yuvak Mandal distributed breakfast to 8,000 participants. All the guests including the District Minister consumed the breakfast.

Yoga demonstration  

Over 450 students of CKC High School demonstrated yogasanas, around 500 students of Sadvidya High School students performed dance to a patriotic song, 500 students of Vidyavardhaka and B.M. Shri Vidya Samsthe also performed dance with the theme ‘Unity and diversity.’

Sarvottama Seva Awards

The District Administration conferred ‘Sarvottama Seva Awards’ on outstanding best Government employees for the year 2018-19 on the occasion.

District Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Programme Officer  Dr. L. Ravi, Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Superintending Engineer B.K. Sureshbabu, MCC Environmental Engineer T.M. Purnima, K.R. Nagar taluk Deputy Tahasildar Y.K. Guruprasad and ZP First Division Assistant B.S. Padmakshi were honoured with the award.

Mayor Pushpalatha Jagannath, MLA Tanveer Sait, Deputy Mayor Shafi Ahammed, ZP in-Charge President S.R. Nandeesh, MLC Marithibbegowda, Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G. Sankar, IGP K.V. Sharath Chandra,  ZP CEO K. Jyothi, MCC Commissioner K.H. Jagadeesha, MUDA Commissioner P.S. Kantharaj, Mysuru City Police Commissioner K.T. Balakrishna and others were present.