Basava Ratna award to be presented

Mysuru: Mysuru Sharana Mandali will be celebrating Basava Jayanti at Dr. Shivarathri Rajendra auditorium in JSS Hospital premises at 5 pm on June 10.

On the occasion, ‘Basava Ratna’ award will be presented to 6 achievers — Dr. M. Raju, M.D. KRIDL, Bengaluru; Dr. C.N. Manjunath, Director, Jayadeva Institute of Cardio Vascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru; A.T. Ranganath, Veteran Kannada activist from Bengaluru, Dr. Sharada Channabasappa, social worker from Bengaluru, H.V. Rajeev, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan icon from Mysuru and Dhananjaya, noted cine actor. Assembly Speaker K.B. Koliwad will inaugurate. District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa will preside. Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji will grace the occasion.

Profile of awardees

Dr. R. Raju: An IFS Officer, Dr. Raju is a native of Hosadurga village in Ramanagaram. After higher education, he joined Govt. service and served in various depts. He won Rajiv Gandhi Rashtriya Ekta Samman-2009 in recognition of his service in forest and environment conservation.

Dr. C.N. Manjunath: A renowned cardiologist, Dr. Manjunath is presently working for establishing Jayadeva units at Mysuru and Kalaburagi. A votary of ‘Treatment first, fee payment later’ concept, he is credited with setting up a Rs. 25 crore corpus fund for treating poor patients and distributing drugs free of cost to the needy. A recipient of Padmashri and Kannada Rajyotsava award, he has many national and international awards to his credit.

A.T. Ranganath: A veteran Kannada activist, Ranganath hails from a farmer family at Arakere village in Srirangapatna. Joining the HAL at Bengaluru as an officer, he established ‘Kannada Sangha’, which fought for the cause of Kannadigas. He associated with Vatal Nagaraj to take part in many Kannada movements across the State. Recognising his services, the then CM S.M. Krishna appointed him as the President of KREDL.

Dr. Sharada Channabasappa: A social worker from Bengaluru, Dr. Sharada, after the untimely death of her industrialist husband Channabasappa, continued to serve the society, coming to the aid of hundreds of poor students and scores of distressed farmers.

H.V. Rajeev: Hailing from Hebsur in Chamarajanagar, he completed his primary education at Chamarajanagar and obtained his B.Sc from University of Mysore. After establishing J.P. Bhandar at J.P. Nagar, he started Pramati Hillview Academy, a well-known educational institution in city. A pioneer of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in city, Rajeev is associated with BJP. He is the District Co-op. Union President and Vice-President of Karnataka Rajya Saouharda Samyukta Sahakri Niyamita.

K.A. Dhananjaya: He was born at Kalenahalli in Hassan in 1986. After completing his Engineering from SJCE, Mysuru, he joined Infosys. Having a passion for acting, he associated with theatre groups, where he honed his acting skills. He received widespread recognition for his role in the film ‘Allama’ directed by T.S. Nagabharana. He is currently working on a short film titled ‘Jayanagar 4th block.’