Gundlupet: Maintaining that there is a lot of talent in rural areas too, Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji said that rural students should get access to advanced technologies and learning.

He was speaking after inaugurating Sri Siddaganga Shivakumara Swamiji Science and Robotics Lab, gifted by the fans of Housing Minister V. Somanna, who is also Chamarajanagar District in-Charge Minister, as part of the Minister’s birthday celebration, at Government PU College in Begur of Gundlupet taluk on Tuesday.

Pointing out that the world is witnessing rapid scientific advancements, Sri Deshikendra Swamiji said that we are seeing a sea change in the field of Medicine and other key sectors. Pointing out that it is happy to note that a girl student from Deshipura village in the taluk secured 624 out of 625 marks in SSLC without attending tuitions, despite being less advantageous than her urban peer students, he said that the Lab will be a boon to students of the village and surrounding areas. This advanced Robotics Lab should be linked to the existing Labs in all other schools of the taluk and the district, he added.

Titular head of the erstwhile Mysore Royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, in his address, recalled the association between the Royal family and Chamarajanagar district. Pointing out that his ancestors lived in Hangala village of Gundlupet taluk, he said that they were the ones who built the famed Chamarajeshwara Temple at Chamarajanagar. Noting that India is a land of villages, Yaduveer stressed on the need for tapping and nurturing rural talent that is aplenty in the country.

Speaking after being felicitated on his birthday, Housing Minister V. Somanna announced that measures will be taken for setting up similar Robo Labs in Government Colleges across Chamarajanagar district. Recalling that Chamarajanagar district was carved out of Mysuru in 1997 when J.H. Patel was the Chief Minister, he said that the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the district will be celebrated in a meaningful manner.

Stating that a Rs. 400 crore action plan has been prepared under the guidance of Suttur Seer for feeding water to all lakes and other water bodies of the district, he said that the M.M. Hills Temple Authority and Chamarajanagar Government Medical College are symbols of development in the district.

Measures have been taken for all-round development of the district, Somanna said adding that steps will be taken for making Nanjangud-Gundlupet stretch of Bengaluru-Nilgiris Highway into a two-lane one for prevention of accidents.

Gundlupet MLA C.S. Niranjan Kumar too spoke. University of Mysore (UoM) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof. G. Hemantha Kumar, Karnataka Border Area Development Authority Chairman Dr. C. Somashekar, Chamarajanagar DC Charulatha Somal, Zilla Panchayat (ZP) CEO K.N. Gayathri, SP T.P. Shivakumar, Additional SP Sundar Raj, DDPUE Nagamallesh, DDPI Manjunath, College Development Committee President Kamarahalli Srikantappa and others were present.