Karnataka: Covid warriors feted on occasion of I-Day

MANGALURU/UDUPI: Brevity marked the 74th district level Independence Day event held under the new normal in Dakshina Kannada on Saturday. The programme was telecast live on the local cable television network and on the Facebook page of district minister Kota Shrinivas Poojari and district administration, and was over in 45 minutes from the time that Poojari arrived at the venue till the parade commander sought his permission to disperse.
Lauding the resolve shown by the district administration in handling the fallout of the pandemic, Poojari said the state government is doing everything in its power to stem its spread as per directions and guidance given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The administration has taken a firm step to ensure free testing for Covid-19 and treatment of patients. The government has taken the pandemic as a challenge, and is confronting it headlong, Poojari said.
The highlight of the event was the felicitation of corona warriors from different departments. They included Dr Ramachandra Bairy, DHO, who successfully recovered from Covid-19, and he was among 15 people from the health, revenue, police and industries departments, and five from urban local bodies, including four pourakarmikas – two each from Ullal CMC and Mangaluru City Corporation, and a senior health inspector from Ullal city municipality, who were felicitated.
Missing from the celebration was a march past by the personnel of uniformed services and cultural programmes that the department of public instruction arranged each year. The need to maintain social distancing meant that the gathering inside the venue was limited to officials and invitees, though a good number watched the proceedings from outside. Waterproof canopies were arranged for the police to stand under, for the brief duration of the function.
Amidst the strict time schedule drawn up for the event, the administration however did not fail to recognise the resolve shown by Aakash Madivalaiah Hiremath, a student of Morarji Desai Residential School, Machchina in Belthangady taluk, for his performance in the SSLC examination of 2019-20. Dignitaries that included Nalin Kumar Kateel, DK MP and others felicitated Aakash, while the department of social welfare presented him a cheque for Rs 10,000.
In Udupi, deputy commissioner G Jagadeesha, who stood in for district minister Basavaraj Bommai, delivered the Independence Day address. A march past by police personnel and NCC cadets, honouring corona warriors was the highlight. The DC highlighted measures taken to address the situation caused by Covid-19 and natural calamities. He made a special mention of efforts of all stakeholders in ensuring Udupi topped both the PU and SSLC result charts in the state.