Kavya's death: Prominent persons unite for cause of Alva's foundation

Meeting on August 10 to extend moral support to Mohan Alva

Prominent persons from various fields in the district have organised a meeting on August 10 at 5.30 pm at Town Hall here to gather support for Dr M Mohan Alva, chairman of Alva’s Education Foundation.

The foundation is in the thick of controversy following the reported suicide of Kavya, a class 10 student at the hostel attached to the school.

Addressing reporters on Monday here, K Chandrashekar Shetty, state secretary of Samskara Bharathi, said, “While we regret the death of the student, the meeting has been organised under the banner of ‘Alvarondige Naavu’ (We are with Alva), with the sole intention of extending moral support to Alva, who is deeply pained over the incident. In all, 40 organisations have united for the common cause, with Alva being a patron of art and culture in the undivided Dakshina Kannada district.”

Alva, who is also a Bharatanatyam dancer, has been organising Alva’s Nudisiri and various other programmes for the cause of culture, said Shetty, strongly defending the objective behind the meeting.

Purushotham Bhandary, president of Mangaluru unit of Samskara Bharathi, said, the meeting aims to condemn the trial of media, especially on social media by portraying Alva in bad light.

Reacting to media queries on the rationale behind organising the meeting when the police probe into the suspicious incident is underway, art patron P Nityananda Rao said, ‘If Alva emerges as a culprit after the probe, we will not protest. However, we have faith in him and he will emerge unscathed.”

 When the media persons drew the attention towards the recent visit of MLC V S Ugrappa, chairman of expert committee for prevention of sexual harassment against women and children, who found grave irregularities on the campus, they replied in negative.

Prominent among the organisations, the representatives of which are expected to attend the meeting are - Samskara Bharathi, Mangaluru, Karnataka Karavali Nrityakala Parishat, Sangeetha Bharati Foundation, Sangeetha Parishat, Mangaluru, Manikrishna Swamy Academy, Tulu Nataka Kalavadira Okkoota,  Karavali Chitrakala Chavadi, Kannada Sahitya Parishat, DK unit, Sports Promoters Club, Amateur Kabaddi Association and Yoga institutions.

Yoga teacher Jagadish Shetty, artiste Ganesh Somayyaji, Tulu film producer and theatre person Kishore Rai, Pramod Ariga also spoke on the occasion.