Mangaluru, Jan 26: The 66th Republic Day celebrations in Dakshina Kannada began at Nehru Maidan here with hoisting the tricolour flag and a parade by various contingents, followed by a colourful song-and-dance presentation by students, showcasing India’s rich cultural diversity.
Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai hoisted the Indian flag and inspected the parade.
Delivering the Republic Day address, Mr Rai said that people needed to join hands against anti-social elements and strive towards creating a harmonious society and a better nation.
Briefing on several developmental projects in Dakshina Kannada in the past few months, he said that the proposal to bring all the district-level government offices under the same roof was in the stage of being approved. Various programmes such as Janata Darshan at taluk level, revenue adalat and pension adalat have been held to resolve the disputes and problems of people living in the district. Currently, steps have been initiated to give consent to applications of 45,759 homes belonging to the poor constructed illegally on government land, he said, adding that a joint survey was being conducted by the forest and revenue department to identify forest land being used for cultivation.
He further entailed the development of roads and selected villages in rural areas of the district, along with taking measures to ensure that the people were not affected by the Kasturirangan report when it would be implemented.
“It is our duty as the citizens of this country to preserve the rich culture and heritage of the country and to live together in unity and harmony without being restricted by parochial outlook of religion, language and caste,” he said, adding that all should work towards building a strong nation.
On the occasion, students from Gujarathi English Medium School, Alake, St Aloysius School, Urwa and Kodialbail presented an attractive tableau of the multi-cultural diversity with colourful dances.
During the programme, six government employees from various departments in the district were conferred with district-level awards for their meritorious services – Dr Rajesh B V, District surveillance officer, Jean Mary Tauro, Urban Property Ownership Records Tahsildar, Kanthappa Gowda from Puttur block education office, K Mohammed, revenue inspector, Krishna and Hukrappa Naik, Group D worker.
The annual vintage and classic car show and rally was also held as part of the celebrations in which several vintage cars and motor-bikes participated.
IGP (Western Range) Amrit Paul, DK Superintendent of Police S D Sharanappa, Mangalore city police commissioner S Murugan, DK deputy commissioner Adoor B Ibrahim, CEO of ZP Tulasi Maddineni, MCC Commissioner Hebsibha Rani Koralpati and a host of political leaders witnessed the march past and participated in the programme.
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