Pramod Madhwaraj Inaugurates Yuvajana Mela, Vivekananda State Awards presented
Udupi: The three-day long State-level Yuvajana Mela was inaugurated in a colourful way at the Indoor Stadium premises Ajjarkad here on March 3.
The programme began with the Nadageethe, Dr Roshan Kumar Shetty deputy director for Sports and Youth services welcomed the gathering.
Pramod Madhwaraj Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports and fisheries and also the Udupi district minister in-charge inaugurated the Yuvajana Mela by lighting the lamp, followed by Padmashree Awardee Nadoja Sukri Bomma Gowda beating the drums.
Addressing the gathering Pramod Madhwaraj said that the youth should take part in programmes such as youth fair which depict the art, culture, and tradition of our nation. Youth should engage in constructive activities where they will be able to expose their talent and also at the same time hold the integrity of the nation. Youth should follow the moral values put forth by leaders like Swami Vivekananda. Yuvajana Mela is a good forum for the youth from rural areas to showcase their skills and talent. Today our youth are showing interest in western culture. But our state has a rich folklore culture. Youngsters should put their effort in preserving folklore for future generations, he added.
The Udupi district has forward in sports and others sectors. To promote the sports sector all types of sports facilities are available in the district. A tennis court with modern facilities will be inaugurated soon and such type of tennis court will be the first in the state after Delhi which is a pride for all of us. Well-known badminton player Prakash Padukone agreed to form a Badminton academy in Udupi and Bengaluru, which will help the budding badminton players. A sum of Rs One crore has been sanctioned for the Indoor Badminton stadium for installing air condition. All these facilities have been realised due to the funds provided by the Rajyasabha member Oscar Fernandes and the State government, he said.
Madhwaraj presented Swami Vivekananda State Awards to 8 persons and two organisations for the year 2015-16.
The winners are: Basavaraj Totada, Kalburgi District, Basavaraj S Mandya District, Basavaraj B Indoora of Dharwad District, Santhosh Kumar S Nigadi, Vijayapura district, Putaraj Kidiyappagowda Pateela of Gadag district, Prakash Chandannanavar Gadag, Girish Gowda Dharwad, Laxman Raichur district.
The award-winning organisations are: Love star Sports and cultural youth association Mevandi of Gadag district and Ardhanarishwara Yuvathi Mandala of Mutlupadi Karkala, Udupi District.
Sukri Bomma Gowda who won the Padmashree award was also honoured on the occasion.
Zilla Panchayat president Dinakar Babu, CMC Chief Meenakshi Madhva Bannaje, Udupi TP president Nalini Pradeep Rao, UDAA Chief Narashimamoorthy, ADC Anuradha and others were present.
