Udupi: A Tenku Thittu amateur Yakgshagana himmela competition and a Tenku and Badagu Thittu amateur Yakshagana mandali conference will be held to mark the valedictory of the silver jubilee celebrations of Bailoor Sri Mahishamardini Yakshagana Mandali here on January 24 and 25 respectively.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, secretary of the mandali Jayaram Acharya said that nearly 10 teams would be participating in the himmela competition.

Child artistes would stage a Yakshagana Bayalata performance, “Lava-Kusha”, on the same day. About 30 amateur Yakshagana teams will take part in the conference. Chairman of the State Yakshagana Academy Kumble Sundar Rao will release a souvenir at a public function on the same day.

This will be followed by a “Yakshagana Vaividya” programme. The conference will end with a Yakshagana puppetry show by the Gopalakrishna Yakshgana Bombeyata Sangha from Kasaragod.

President of the mandali A. Sripati Acharya and treasurer B. Narayana Das were present.

Udupi: Freedom fighter and Gandhian B. Namadev Shenoy said on Monday that college students should follow Gandhian ideals in their daily lives.

He was speaking after inaugurating the District Youth Convention organised by the Nehru Yuva Kendra and NSS unit of Mangalore University, here.

Anti-Violence Day and Anti-Terrorism Day were also observed on the occasion. College students who were present, took an oath to follow non-violence and protest peacefully against terrorism.

The 85-year-old Mr. Shenoy said that it was easy for students to take an oath of non-violence, but following it required real strength and effort. Gandhiji had aimed at not only “swarajya” (freedom) but also a larger goal — peace in the world. “Gandhiji adhered strictly to truth, peace and non-violence. People should follow the path of non-violence in letter and in spirit,” he said.

Stating that the problem of naxalism was not imported, he pointed out that though the Government had made several announcements for the development of backward areas, nothing was implemented.

“Lack of basic facilities has led to frustration among the youth, who have taken the path of naxalism. We have to work to bring them to the mainstream through non-violence. They are our brothers,” he said. He said that according to Gandhiji, “satyagraha” (non-violent resistance) was the basis of “swarajya”. Gandhiji knew that freedom could be attained only by involving the common man. That was why he launched the “Salt Satyagraha”. “Even people in villages were inspired by it,” he said.

The present clamour in certain sections of society for military action against Pakistan was misplaced, he said. “You cannot teach any lesson to Pakistan through violent means,” he said.

Udupi: The Excise Department arrested three people on charges of ferrying liquor illegally. Value of the liquor seized is estimated at Rs. 45,000.

According to a press release issued by the Excise Department here, a team from the department arrested the three accused, Mohammad, Sanjeeva and Abdul on Sunday, when they were trying to ferry 16 cases of liquor out of the Udupi Railway Station. The accused had come by the Netravati Express train from Goa to Udupi and were carrying the liquor without permission , the release from the department added.

Udupi, January 18: “Silence of the good and the intellectuals is causing a major problem to the society,” said Retired High Court Justice M F Saldanha.

Addressing the annual day celebrations of Milagres College, Kallianpur, Justice Saldanha called upon all the students to positively respond to the problems around them so that a healthy society is created. “Failure should be considered as an opportunity to live a challenging life,” he said. He expressed his happiness over the excellent academic atmosphere in the college and said that the college is one of the best institutions in the country.

College Correspondent Fr Marcel Saldanha presided over the programme, Principal Fr Fred Mascarenhas presented the annual report of the college.

Prizes to the student achievers were distributed on this occasion.

Udupi: Higher Education Minister Arvind Limbavalli said on Saturday that the State Government was contemplating on having a Chair on “Kambala”, the rural sport of he-buffalo race, which is popular in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts, at the Mangalore University.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the 19th annual Koti-Chennayya Kambala at Nandikur village in Udupi district. Mr. Limbavalli said that a “Kambala” track should be developed in every taluk to encourage this sport. The Department of Sports and Youth Services should try to promote it, he said. Home Minister V.S. Acharya was present.

Udupi: The Udupi District Athletic Association along with SyndicateBank will be organising a marathon here on February 8.

Addressing presspersons here on Sunday, K. Raghupati Bhat, MLA, said that the marathon would be held with the theme, “Run against terrorism”. It has been titled “SyndBank Udupi Marathon-2009” and it will be a 21 km run. The marathon would have men and women’s category.

The first prize in the men’s category is a Hero Hondo Glamour motorcycle, while in the women’s category it is a Hero Honda Pleasure scooter.

The second prize will be a cash award of Rs. 15,000 and the third prize will be a cash award of Rs. 10,000 in both categories. Consolation prizes will be given to people securing the fourth to tenth places in the marathon.

Those who participate and run the full distance will be given participation certificates. Nearly 1,500 persons are expected to participate in the run.

The marathon will begin from the SyndicateBank Head Office in Manipal, pass through Udupi and culminate at the point where it started.

A 5-km race will be held for boys and girls below 16 years. A 5-km race will be held for senior citizens as well. Prizes will be given to the persons securing the first five places in both races. Those wishing to participate in the marathon and the races will have to apply it at any branch of SyndicateBank or send it to Dinesh Kumar A., physical education instructor, Manipal Pre-University College, Manipal-576 104 on or before February 5. For details, contact secretary of the association Praveen Kumar Shetty on 9845381399 or Dinesh Kumar A. on 9343264850.

Deputy General Manager of SyndicateBank Sujir Prabhakar, president of the association Balakrishna Hegde, and vice-president Jayaram Suvarna, were among those present.

Udupi: The police and the Anti-Naxalite Force (ANF) have recovered three country bombs, two detonators, four gelatine sticks, and about 200 grams of gun powder at Mudur village coming under the Kollur police limits on Saturday.

According to the Kollur police, the police and the ANF raided a rubber nursery at Mudur village. The police recovered three country bombs, four gelatine sticks, about 200 grams of gun power and other materials used in making explosives at the nursery. Bottles were used in the making of the country bombs. A bomb disposal squad has been called for the inspection of country bombs. A case has been registered. Sources in the Police Department said that the explosives appeared more to do with a local dispute than naxalite activity.

Udupi: President of Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) Dinakar Shetty said on Saturday that officials should act as a link between the Government and the people for implementation of welfare schemes.

He was speaking at the janaspandana, mass contact programme, organised by the district administration at the Town Hall here.

Mr. Shetty said that it was incumbent upon the people to take advantage of the welfare programmes. The officials should ensure proper dissemination of the welfare schemes, he said. B.H. Narayanappa, commissioner of the council, Bharati, president of Ambalpady gram panchayat, Ramananda Nayak, executive officer of Udupi taluk panchayat, Nayana Ganesh, zilla panchayat member, and Gokuldas Nayak, commissioner of Udupi Urban Development Authority were present.

Cheques of various schemes were distributed to the beneficiaries. Certificates of the “Sandhya Suraksha” scheme were distributed to 123 beneficiaries, while Bhagyalakshmi certificates were distributed to distributed to 50 beneficiaries.

Udupi: The court of the First Additional Civil Judge (Junior Division) and Judicial Magistrate First Class ordered the release of chairman and director of Chitra Publications Pvt. Ltd. B.V. Seetaram in connection with a two-year old defamation case here on Saturday.

The advocate for Mr. Seetaram told The Hindu that Mr. Seetaram offered surety to the court on Saturday. Consequently, the court ordered his release in the two-year-old defamation case filed by Bhojaraj Shetty.

Mr. Seetaram was arrested by the police in connection with this defamation case near Karkala in Udupi district on January 4.

His advocate had filed a bail application for the release of Mr. Seetaram at the court of the First Additional Civil Judge (Junior Division) and Judicial Magistrate First Class on January 5. The court had allowed the bail application and Mr. Seetaram was directed to give a bond.

Mr. Seetaram refused to give the bond as he feared danger to his life at the hands of the police and the State Government. He had filed a memo to the court stating that he intended to remain in judicial custody for his personal safety. The court remanded him in judicial custody till January 17.

A two-member team of the Press Council of India (PCI) would be visiting Udupi on January 19 in connection with a complaint lodged by Chairman and Director of Chitra Publications Pvt. Ltd. B.V. Seetaram regarding the threat from a Sangh Parivar organisation and police inaction. Sources in the district administration said here on Saturday that the team would be visiting Udupi to study the actual situation. The two members of the team from the Press Council of India are K. Sreenivas Reddy from Hyderabad and Kundan Raman Lal Vyas from Mumbai. The team would be meeting Deputy Commissioner P. Hemalatha and Superintendent of Police Pravin Pawar on the same day.

Mangalore Staff Correspondent reports:

The Judicial Magistrate First Class (second court) and the Judicial Magistrate First Class (third court) in Mangalore have reserved their judgement in response to a bail plea moved by the lawyers of Karavali Ale on Saturday. Based on a technical clause both the courts have decided to hear the case once again on January 19.