Media Release
Kanajar, Apr 19: The much awaited day had finally dawned on Kanajar. The summer day was quite simmering but spirits of the people of Kanajar Community were equally high because it was the culmination of yet another ambitious project that the community had undertaken. The inauguration ceremony of the Kanajar Sauharda Bhavan auditorium started at 3:45 PM with the arrival of the Bishop of Mangalore Diocese, Bishop Aloysius Paul D'Souza and the Home minister of the Govt. of Karnataka, Dr VS Acharya. The Bishop cut the ribbon at front door thereby paving way to the ceremony inside the Hall. Member of Legislative Assembly of Karnataka, Gopal Bhandary and the Episcopal Vicar of Udupi District Fr Baptist Menezes were the other dignitaries present on this occasion.
The Bishop led the blessing ceremony with prayers, readings from the Holy Gospel and then sprinkling of Holy Water. The dignitaries were later escorted to the dais by the Vice president of parish council Mrs. Mabel Nazareth and secretary Denis D'Souza. The children of Lourdes School Kanajar performed the welcome dance. Parish Priest Fr. Alwyn D'Cunha in his welcome speech welcomed each of the dignitaries on the dais and the gathering. He also thanked all the donors & well wishers for helping in realizing this project.
The Chief Guest Dr. VS Acharya in his speech applauded the project work of Sauharda Bhavan that will benefit all the people of Kanajar regardless of their caste, creed or religion. He also expressed his gratitude to the Christian Community in general for their contribution to the society especially in the fields of education and healthcare. Later a souvenir book to commemorate the event was released by the chief guest, which is edited by RE Rebello.
Gopal Bhandary then felicitated all the construction workers. In his speech he commended the beautiful work undertaken by the Kanajareans.
As the first ever beneficiary program at the new auditorium, a summer camp of the catechismic children will held here. The inauguration of the same camp was done by very Fr. Baptist Menezes by symbolically opening up a blooming arcanut flower bunch, with the children surrounding the stage. Later in his speech the Episcopal Vicar applauded the leadership of Fr. Alwyn D'Cunha for his strength and courage to undertake such a mammoth task..
Later the Kanajarean Associations from the Gulf were felicitated for their unprecedented support for the project. The Kanajar Welfare Association Kuwait (KWAK) was represented by Mrs. Jecintha Pinto and Flavia Menezes from Kuwait. The Lourdes Kanajar Welfare Association of UAE was represented by Thomas Saldanha, Stanley D'Souza and Aloysius D'Souza, and these representatives were called onto the dais and were felicitated by the Bishop. The chief engineers of the projects Srinivas Pai and Robert Noronha were also felicitated by the Bishop by handing over them the medals.
Last but not the least, the parish priest of Lourdes Church Kanajar, Fr. Alwyn D'Cunha, who was instrumental in the execution of the project, was felicitated by the Bishop on behalf of the parishioners. Stanley D'Souza Dubai did the honors of providing a brief introduction of the priest father and reading out his past and present achievements, which includes the building of the church of Blessed Joseph Vaz at Mudipu. The priest father was felicitated by the Bishop with a shawl, garland and fruit bowl.
In his presidential speech, the Bishop Bishop Aloysius Paul D'Souza applauded the parishioners and other donors for their support to the project. He specifically commended the overseas Kanajarean Associations for their contribution to various activities and project back home. He also called on the people to make good use of the auditorium. On the sidelines of forthcoming Loksabha elections he delivered a key note to the gathered people and urged each one of them to vote so that a government that uphold the basic freedoms of the citizens may get elected.
Parish council vice president Mable Nazareth proposed vote of thanks. The program was compered by RE Rebello and Sr. Meena. The program concluded with snacks and fruit juice provided to the gathered people.
The auditorium was built at a total cost of about Rs 60 Lakhs and has a capacity of around a thousand people. It is noteworthy that the building is conforming to the Hindu Vaastu Shastra standards. As the name of the auditorium suggests, the utility is meant for all the people of Kanajar regardless of their caste, creed or religion. There is a deficit of around Rs. 9 Lakh in the project budget and interested persons may come forward and may contribute in the form of donations or loans.