Mounesh Vishwakarma

Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (SP)

Bantwal, Mar 31: A 73-year-old man has undertaken journey from Shivamogga to Bengaluru on his bicycle. He is driven by the motto of eradicating corruption from the country, ban sow slaughter, and demanding to link rivers Godavari and Cauvery. He also wants to urge people to vote without fail in the Lok Sabha election .

The man is equipped with a national flag, slogan urging people to exercise their franchise in the election, eyeglasses, a board that emphasises on cleanliness, and his bicycle. His aim is to create awareness among the people on different issues as above.

The man riding his bicycle for a mission happens to be Umapathi Modaliar. He is from Melakallu Tirupathi in Arsikere taluk, Hassan district. His father, Appaswamy, was a freedom fighter, and the son seems to have inherited the determination to work for the welfare of the society. After his father told him that he should do something for the country Umapathi decided to do social service. He gave official beginning to his bicycle jatha on October 2, 2001 at Gandhi Bhavan Bengaluru. His first tour was backed by the aim of creating awareness about HIV in addition to H1N1, liquor ban, cleanliness, ban on smoking etc.

In one of the jathas he undertook later from Chamundi HIlls, Mysuru, Modaliar had visited New Delhi and met the Prime Minister and placed before him his demands and ideals dear to his heart. He also had urged the Prime Minister to link River Godavari with River Cauvery. In 2010, he had appealed to the Prime Minister to enforce cow slaughter ban, and undertook a number of activities in pursuit of this demand.

So far, Modaliar has visited 11 states and 27 districts of Karnataka by his bicycle. He has visited about 56,050 schools to create awareness among the children on various subjects. Being a national level sportsperson, he had bagged 16 gold, eight silver, and eight bronze medals at state and national level between 2008 and 2016.

During the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he succeeded on visiting various places in Hassan district and urging people to participate in the election process. This time he aims at achieving 100 percent voting. Modaliar, who began his journey from Shivamogga, will pass through Dakshina Kannada district, Hassan and Tumakuru before reaching Bengaluru where he plans to met the election commission officials and ask them to give him an opportunity to deliberate on certain issues. "If I get an opportunity, I also will plead with them to give voting right to thousands of prison inmates in the election. This can pave way for transformation. I also plan to urge them to provide for patients in hospitals to cast their votes," he explained.

Umapathi, who is an ideal personality and altruist, lives in penury. His family does not have a roof on its head. He lives in a rented accommodation. He has married a lady who was suffering from certain mental problems. He also adopted a girl child and married her off. He is an electrical contractor by profession, but he works for nine months every year and undertakes bicycle jatha for three months to create awareness on various issues.

He says that learning Kannada should be first priority in Karnataka. English and Hindi too should be taught, he says. He said he faced problems in communicating with the Prime Minister because of language problem. Therefore he feels children should be taught as many languages as possible. He says that a cellphone gifted to him in 2006 by the then Hassan district deputy commissioner, Ashwathnarayana, is not working now. He is in need of a cellphone and would be happy if the government or donors provide it. In 2011, Delhi Kannada Sangha office bearers had identified his services, facilitated him, and presented to him a video camera.

Modaliar feels that voting by accepting money is like selling one's mother. He said he has beseeched Lord Manjunatha at Dharmasthala to ensure that the voting this time reaches 100 percent. He recalls that Dr Veerendra Heggade of Dharmasthala had extended to him financial assistance. He claims that he has about 28 kg of documentary evidences and 10 kg photographs relating to his social service initiatives so far. He has specifically urged people to cast their votes this time without fail.