'Preserve culture, greenery of Mangalore'

Mangalore, February 24: We should strive to retain the culture and greenery of the city during the course of its speedy development, said B Nagaraja Shetty, Chairman of Coastal Development Authority.

He was delivering the presidential address at the inaugural session of the three day seminar jointly organised by St Aloysius College (Autonomous) and Mangalore Sociology Association under the central theme “Mangalore: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” at the IT Auditorium of St Aloysius College on Thursday.

Shetty said that as Mangalore is the fastest growing city in Karnataka after Bangalore, the age old culture of 'Tulu Nadu' is naturally facing a grave threat.

Hindrance:

The former district in-charge minister of Dakshina Kannada pointed out that corruption and bureaucracy are two major hindrances for the real development of the region. “We should fight against corruption together, which mars our development” he said.

Challenges:

He noted that there are a number of challenges before this city, which is experiencing a rapid growth in all areas including in the number of its population. “Setting up of industries is also a challenge as we don't want any farmland to be acquired. Moreover, we don't want those industries, which are dangerous for the people and nature,” he said.

He also said that there is an urgent need to solve the problem of unemployment, which is increasing with every passing year as thousands of students are passing out of colleges every year in the city, which has a large number of education institutions including a considerable number of medical and engineering colleges.

Cultivate civic sense:

Dr B M Hegde, Ex Vice-Chancellor of Manipal University, who inaugurated the programme, exhorted the younger generation to cultivate civic sense and a good character, which is essential for the development of any society.

“It is we who build the future of Mangalore, not any government. The society will not improve unless we improve ourselves,” he said.

Giving a meaningful definition to the religion and culture, he said religion is man's obligation towards the society while culture is what we do when no one is looking at us.

He said that if we want to change Mangalore, we must change ourselves first. “We should think what we have done for this city rather than questioning what this city has done for us”, he said.

Rev Fr Swebert D'Silva S.J, Principal of St Aloysius College welcomed the gathering. Prof Dattatreya Rao, President MSA and Dr Richard Pais, Organising Secretary, were among those present.