Ranganath, who received the award on the occasion the 94th birth anniversary celebrations of former chief minister Devaraj Urs at a function held at the Vidhana Soudha Banquet Hall, returned the cash prize to Social Welfare Minister D Sudhakar, requesting him to utilise the amount for the various programmes taken up by the backward classes welfare department.
Public Works Minister C M Udasi and Minor Irrigation Minister Govind Karjol recalled Urs’ contributions in implementing land reforms in the State and the various programmes for uplift of the underprivileged.
Other awardees at the divisional level include S Honnaiah (Mysore), G P Dasegowda (Bangalore), Yeshoda Gujjar (Belgaum) and Basamma Alakunte (Gulbarga), for their services for social justice. The divisional-level awards carry a cash prize of Rs 50,000.
Speaking after garlanding the statue of Devraj Urs outside the Vidhana Soudha, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah said the government should immediately take up a survey of backward classes in the State.
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