Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SMK/NR)
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje 
 
Mangalore, Mar 3: 'Cordial relationship among beedi rollers, contractors and owners is crucial if they have to benefit from each other,' opined Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde. He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating the one day conference of Dakshina Kannada Beedi Contractors Association (DKBCA) organized by their South Kanara-Udupi district union at Town Hall here on Saturday March 2.

According to him, 'Beedi rollers come under the unorganized sector. They have to become an organized union so that they can raise their voice against any injustice.'

He stressed that the working class people should be the primary beneficiaries of a company's profit and it is the owners' responsibility to a large extent to safeguard the interests of both beedi rollers and contractors, he added.  

Justice Hegde also advised the beedi workers community to provide good education to their children so that they can opt for other professions in the future. This is the need of the hour at this juncture owing to the diminishing scope for beedi industries in India, he averred.

Former MLA Shakuntala Shetty in her speech said that the beedi industry can rightly be called the 'vein of the district' and closing down the source of employment without providing alternative means of livelihood can be devastating, she declared. 

On the occasion well-known beedi contractors of Dakshina Kannada Udupi District like Mahalaxmi Kadri, Shambu Nayak, Abdul Khadar Kinnigoli, Dejappa Poojari and Sundar Shetty were felicitated. Vasanth Kumar N Hittanagi, deputy labour commissioner, Bangalore presided over the function.  

Sucharitha Shetty K P, president, DK zilla panchayat, Ganesh Hosabettu, mayor, Ramanath Rai, former state minister, U T Khadar and Shakuntala Shetty former members of the state legislature were present on the occasion.