Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (EP)
Udupi, June 1: Officials who came to reclaim Janatha Gym at Doddanagudde on Wednesday afternoon, June 1 were sent back by the local people who opposed the move.
Gym, Anganawadi, Bhajana Mandir, Shuttle court, Mahila Mandali, Ganeshotsava and several such programmes are being held in the place since the last fifty years.
Revenue officer Devendra Nayak led team had arrived on instructions from Tahsildar to hang the banner. Former MLA Raghupathi Bhat, former municipal council member Prabhakar Poojary, Shirooru Laxmivara Theertha Swamiji, Radhakrishna Shetty, Balakrishna Shetty, VHP district president Suprasad Shetty and hundreds of women gathered, took the officials to task and sent them back.
“We oppose assurance by the MLA that the problem will be solved under column 11 and later handing it over to the city corporation. The MLA has assured and gone. We will not allow hanging of banner at any cost. The government should have prevented irregularities if any when they happened. They were quiet for 50 years. What is the purpose behind reclaiming it now”, they asked.
“There are pictures of the participation of MLAs, ministers and officials in the programmes here. They did not realize that it is illegal then”, they asked. The officials had to bow to the people and return.