Second edition of Hombelaku Kreedotsava to be held in Mangaluru on Feb. 22 – Manjunath Bhandary
Udupi: Under the auspices of the Grama Swaraj Prathishtana, the second edition of ‘Hombelaku’—a sports and cultural festival for elected representatives and staff of the gram panchayats—will be held on February 22 at the Sahyadri College campus in Adyar. The invitation for this event was released on Tuesday at the Hotel Karthik Hall in Udupi.
Speaking at the release of the invitation, Legislative Council member Manjunath Bhandary mentioned that, inspired by the success of last year’s sports meet, Minister Priyank Kharge has directed officials to explore the possibility of extending such sports and cultural meetings for elected representatives to all districts.
MP Kota Srinivas Poojary has been organizing sports meets for elected representatives of Udupi district in Kota for the past seven to eight years, Bhandari said. There was a demand from local representatives of Dakshina Kannada for similar programs. Last year, approximately 6,000 people participated in the event.
“There are 355 gram panchayats in the undivided Dakshina Kannada, with 6,082 members and 2,500 employees. This is an opportunity to bring them all under one roof. Around 200-gram panchayat members and staff will participate in a colorful parade at the inauguration of this event. The themes for the parade are ‘My Dream India’, ‘Grama Swarajya’, and the folk traditions of the coastal region. Cash prizes of ₹50,000 and ₹25,000 will be awarded to the winners, respectively. Additionally, a special consolation prize will be given to one gram panchayat in each taluk,” Bhandari explained. Awards will also be presented to gram panchayats that have effectively implemented the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in each taluk.
“Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge, and Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Thangadagi have agreed to participate in this event. Minister Priyank Kharge has expressed interest in extending this meet across the state and has requested a report on it,” he said.
“The parade is the highlight of this event, providing an opportunity to reflect ‘My Dream India’, ‘Grama Swarajya’, and the culture of the coastal region. The team that secures the first position will receive a cash prize of ₹50,000, while the team in second place will receive ₹25,000,” he said.
“Competitions in volleyball, sack race, lemon and spoon race, tug of war, arm wrestling, patriotic songs, group dance, and folk dance will be organized. We will award the best gram panchayat in each taluk. T-shirts and food arrangements will be provided for the participants,” he added.
Congress leaders Prasad Raj Kanchan, Ashok Kumar Kodavoor, Raju Poojary, Uday Kumar Shetty, Roshni Oliver, Subhash Chandra Shetty, and Lawrence Shetty attended the press conference.