Conference of chiefs of ‘garodis’ of Udupi district on April 23

Four seminars to be held at the conference

The Udupi Zilla Billava Yuva Vedike will organise a one-day conference of ‘gurikaras’ (chiefs) of ‘garodis’ (places of worship) in Udupi district at the Town Hall, here on April 23.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, Kalmady Achyut Amin, honorary president of the vedike, said there were 163 garodis in Udupi district and about 1,500 gurikaras. Of these, only 70 garodis were in good condition. The rest were in need of repairs or facilities. Some garodis did not even have a proper approach road.

Some time ago, when the vedike approached the district administration, it was told that no specific funds could be provided to the garodis as there was no such provision. When the government can provide funds for the upkeep of temples, it could surely do so for garodis, Mr. Amin said. He added that those working in garodis did not get monthly pension. The only attempt to provide them with pension was made when the S.M. Krishna government was in power. Then too, the pension was provided under the category of artistes. This issue needed to be addressed too.

Seminars on ‘Importance of ‘gurikaras’ in Billava community’, ‘The heroic message of the legendary twin heroes of Tulunadu, Koti and Chennaya’, ‘Contribution of Koti and Chennaya to the culture of Tulunadu’, and ‘Ever worth remembering heroes of Tulunadu – Koti and Chennaya’ would be organised at the conference. The resource persons for the four seminars are: Bannanje Babu Amin, Gananath Yekkar and Ganesh Amin Sankamar, folklore experts, and Kudi Vasanth Shetty, president, Siri Tuluva Chavady. The gurikaras will be felicitated at the conference.

B.K. Hariprasad, Rajya Sabha member, will inaugurate the conference. V. Sunil Kumar, Karkala MLA, will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural function.

Pramod Madhwaraj, Minister of State for Fisheries, Youth Services and Sports, will preside over the valedictory function. Kagodu Thimappa, Revenue Minister, and Shobha Karandlaje, MP, will be the chief guests. Nearly 4,000 people were expected to participate in the conference, Mr. Amin said.