The 107th birth anniversary of former Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs was observed here on Saturday with Minister for Co-operation S.T. Somashekar paying glowing tributes to the ‘champion of backward classes’ by recalling the silent revolution he ushered in the State through various welfare measures including the programmes to uplift the poor and weaker sections.
Inaugurating the anniversary celebrations organised by the Mysuru district administration along with Department of Backward Classes Welfare and Mysuru Zilla Panchayat at Kalamandira in Mysuru, Mr. Somashekar said Mr. Urs was an exemplary Chief Minister, who held the reins of the State for almost eight years in the 1970s.
Mr. Somashekar, who is also Minister in charge of Mysuru district, recalled that Mr. Urs was born in Kalahalli village in Hunsur taluk and went on to become CM after studying in Mysuru. He said the ‘land for the tiller’ programme launched by Mr. Urs was a revolution that helped lakhs of landless labourers and poor farmers become owners of land that they tilled. A life-size statue of Mr. Urs will come up at the new Deputy Commissioner’s office on Bannur Road in Siddhartha Nagar. The cost of the project is estimated to be around ₹92 lakh and the work will start shortly, he said.
On the occasion, Mr Somashekar also conferred the district-level D. Devaraj Urs award on former Minister and BJP MLC A.H. Vishwanath. He said Mr. Vishwanath considers Mr. Urs as his political mentor. Accepting the award, Mr. Vishwanath said Mr. Urs was his political guru right from the beginning. “Even now, he is my guru,” he said while claiming that he will remain forever indebted to him for promoting me in politics since late 1970s when he was practicing as a lawyer in K.R. Nagar.
The contributions of Mr. Urs, Mr. Vishwanath said, were largely aimed at helping the voiceless and oppressed sections of the society.
MLAs G.T. Deve and L. Nagendra, MLC C.N. Manje Gowda, Mayor Sunanda Palanetra, Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru Bagadi Gautham and Mysuru Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Poornima were also present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, a three-day agricultural exhibition was organised at Kalamandira by the various Government Departments and Boards and Corporations that were part of the three-day 107th birth anniversary programme of D. Devaraj Urs. The exhibition featured stalls by various agri products and crops species, besides display and sale of handloom products. The exhibition will remain open to the public till August 22.
