D. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Sri Kshetra Dharmathala, said on Tuesday that besides education, people should have practical knowledge of conducting businesses and handling various situations to lead a stable life.
He was speaking at the installation ceremony of office-bearers of Pragati Bandu Self Help Groups (SHGs) here. There are 4,050 SHGs with 139 federations under the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) in Udupi district.
Dividends were given to the SHGs while select beneficiaries were given grants for rainwater harvesting on the occasion.
Mr. Heggade said that the SKDRDP had 35 lakh SHG members in the State. They had all been trained to handle various responsibilities. Women members of the SHGs had developed leadership qualities.
By joining and becoming active members in the SHGs, the women had shown that they could handle the responsibilities of their houses and also the SHGs, he said.
Second to Bengaluru Urban
Pramod Madhwaraj, Minister of State for Fisheries, Youth Empowerment and Sports, said that Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts were in the second place after Bengaluru Urban district in terms of development according to a survey. This had been possible only because of the rural development initiatives taken by the SKDRDP in the two coastal districts. The projects of SKDRDP had a beneficial effect on government schemes also, he said.
Vinay Kumar Sorake, Kaup MLA, said that the Udupi Federation of Pragati Bandhu SHGs held the top position under the SKDRDP in the State. The projects taken up by the SKDRDP were a model to the country, he said.
Meenakshi Bannanje, president, Udupi City Municipal Council and Nalini Rao, president, Udupi Taluk Panchayat, were present.
