CHIKKABALLAPURA
Karnataka State Seed Corporation President N. Anjinappa described former Chief Minister D. Devaraja Urs as a champion of backward classes who helped disadvantaged communities gain economic and political strength.
He was speaking at Urs’s 111th birth anniversary programme held at Kannada Bhavan on Thursday, organized by the district administration and other departments.
Anjinappa said many backward communities faced poverty, illiteracy and limited access to government benefits. He credited Urs with introducing several welfare measures that helped bring these communities into the mainstream. Additional Deputy Commissioner Dr. N. Bhaskar highlighted the Land Reforms Act, which gave land rights to cultivators, and said Urs also established hostels and supported reservation for backward classes through the Havanur Commission.
District Guarantee Scheme Implementation Authority Chairman Yaluvalli N. Ramesh said Urs’s land reforms provided social justice to tenants and challenged the influence of powerful landlords. He urged students to study Urs’s life and apply his principles. He also said the former leader’s unemployment assistance scheme had similarities with the present Yuvanidhi programme.
Resource person B.V. Prakash said Urs was born on August 20, 1915, at Kallahalli in Hunsur taluk and entered the state Assembly in 1952. He recalled Urs’s contributions to social justice, including measures against bonded labour, child labour and manual scavenging. He also credited Urs with supporting the development of Electronic City in Bengaluru.
High-scoring students from backward-class residential schools and colleges were felicitated during the programme. Educationist Prof. Kodirangappa, social worker R. Subramaniam, artist Chikka Venkatappa and hostel supervisor S. Venkatesh were also honoured. Earlier, a colourful procession featuring Urs’s portrait, decorated tableaux and cultural groups passed through the city before reaching Kannada Bhavan, marking the occasion with public participation.