Scholarships worth Rs. 10.75 lakh were handed over to 225 engineering and medical students at a function organised by the Billavas of Dubai and Northern Emirates committee here on Sunday.
Held at the Sri Kudroli Gokarnanatheshwara temple hall, an additional Rs. 1.25 lakh was given as medical benefits to 15 persons from poor families that had incurred expenses for cancer treatment, eye surgery, and kidney transplant operations, among others.
The former Union Minister B. Janardhana Poojary said the migration of the people to Dubai and other West Asian countries for financial security pointed to the lack of development and parity achieved here. Accusing the community for having failed to follow the principles of Narayana Guru, Mr. Poojary said Billavas should excommunicate members who had fostered communal hatred.
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“When the riots too place some years back, 400 Billava youths were arrested…recently, [referring to home stay attack], more than half the youth who were arrested were Billavas. This is a shame,” he said.