Mangaluru: The Vishwa Hindu Parishat held a press meet at the Samajotsava office premises here, on February 26.
Addressing the mediapersons, President of the Hindu Samajotsava Samiti, Vijay Vittalnath Shettysaid that the preparations for the Virat Hindu Samajotsava are going on very smoothly and that many youth have taken special interest in decorating the city with buntings. “It is like Deepavali and lot of people have come from rural area to decorate the city. The response in the rural area is also very good.” Recalling the prayer centre attack on the night of February 24, he said, “Many are trying to stop the Samajotsava from taking place. The prayer centre was attacked at this time to create misunderstanding between the Hindus and Christians, it was an attempt made to stop thesamajotsava taking place on March 1. The attack on the prayer centre was not done by Hindus. There should be a thorough investigation and the guilty should be severely punished.” He also said that the a 300 sq ft LED screen will be erected behind the main stage for a clear view of the programme.
Briefing on the arrangements of the Hindu Samajotsava, General Secretary Jitendra Kottari said, “The preparations are under way and the youth from various organizations have come forward to decorate the city with buntings and flags. There is a festive mood and the youth visit every house with the invitation to invite the people to take part in the samajotsava. In most of the places, saffron buntings and Bhagvad flags have been put up. At the booth level, Taluk level and gram panchayatlevel meetings have been called, vehicle jathas have also been held in most places. More than onelakh people are expected to take part in the programme.”
On March 1 at 2 pm, a rally will be held from Ambedkar Circle Jyothi to Nehru Maidan. At 3 pm, patriotic songs will be recited and at 4 pm, the stage programme will be held. A 13 ft high and 52 ft wide stage will be erected at the Nehru Maidan and it will be named “Sadananda Kakade stage” to respect the VHP mentor who strengthened the VHP in Karnataka.
Sadhvi Balika Saraswati from Madhya Pradesh will deliver the keynote address. Padma BhushanDharmadhikari, Dr D Veerendra Heggade, will preside over the function. Udupi Pejavar MathSwamiji Shri Shri Vishwesha Tirtha will bless the programme. The programme will begin with ‘Gomatha Puja’ and swamijis from various maths will be present.
Water and snacks will be distributed to the participants who come from far away places. More than 3000 volunteers will assist the participants who come from far away places. all arrangements have been made to provide refreshments at the venue.
The buses coming to the Samajotsava from Mulki and Suratkal will come via Ladyhill – Lalbagh -PVS to Bunts Hostel, drop the people and park the vehicles at the Ramakrishna College grounds.
Buses coming from Kinnigoli, Kateel, Bajpe, Kavoor will come through Bondel, KPT – Bunts Hostel road and park the buses at Ramakrishna College grounds. Buses coming from Moodbidri,Kaikamba, Gurupur, Vamanjoor, Moodshedde will come via Kudupu – Nanthur – Mallikatta and park the vehicles near C V Nayak hall grounds or near Kadri Park. Buses coming from B C Road,Mudipu, Konaje, Manjeshwar, Talapady, Ullal will come via Pumpwell – Balmatta road and park the vehicles in Emmekere grounds or Jeppu Vaman Nayak grounds.
Speaking on the occasion Prof M B Puranik said, “We are celebrating the Hindu Samajotsava to unite Hindus and not to show our power or strength. Through the Samajotsava, we will highlight the achievements of the Vishwa Hindu Parishat since its inception. In the present scenario, most of the Hindus feel that they have been treated as second class citizens and it is a challenge for the VHP to inform the Hindu youth that they are not second class citizens in this country. There are some misunderstandings and differences between the Hindu community which we want to solve and bring all the Hindus people together. Many people criticize the Hindu religion but we accept all the criticism. The aim of the samajotsava is to see that every Hindu leads a respectful life in this country.”
Working president of Hindu Samajotsava samiti Jagadeep D Suvarna, District VHP presidentJagadish Shenava, Secretary Gopal Kuthar and treasurer Manohar Suvarna were also present.
