Post-centenary silver jubilee celebrations of Mangalore Diocese on Feb 11, 12

February 6, 2012

Mangalore, February 6: The two-day post centenary silver jubilee celebrations of Mangalore Diocese will get underway here on February 11. The diocese is completing 125-years of its existence in 2012.

Announcing this at a press meet, Mangalore Bishop Rev Aloysius Paul D Souza said though the celebration on February 11 would be held at Rosario Cathedral ground, the main celebration would be held at Nehru Maidan next day.

Most Rev Salvatore Pennaccho, Apostolic Nuncio in India and Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda will be taking part in this memorable event, he said.

The Bishop said that the Jubilee programme on February 11, would begin at 4 pm at the Rosario Cathedral grounds with the Eucharistic celebration. Most Rev Archbishop Savio Hon, Secretary of the congregation of the Evangelisation of the peoples will be the main celebrant. There will be nearly 20 bishops and 300 priests concelebrating. 15,000 people are expected to be present. The stage program will be adorned by Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the archbishop of Bombay and Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, the Nuncio and most Rev Bernard Moras, the Archbishop of Bangalore. Oscar Fernandes, MP, V S Acharya and Krishna J Palemar, District In-charge ministers of Udupi and DK will be present.

On Sunday February 12, the programme begins at 4 pm at Nehru Maidan with Eucharistic celebration by his Eminence Cardinal Oswald Gracias. Most Rev Salvatore Pennacchio and Archbishop Savio Hon, Archbishop Bernard Moras will be present. Nearly 30 Bishops and 500 priests will be present apart from 50,000 people Apart from Chief Minister, M Veerappa Moily, Minister for Corporate Affairs will also be among the chief guests, he said.

This was announced in a press conference in which Most Rev Aloysius Paul D Souza, Bishop of Mangalore , Rt Rev Denis Prabhu Vicar General, Fr Henry Sequeira, Chancellor, Fr William Menezes , PRO , Fr Onil D Souza, Fr George D Souza, Fr J B Crasta and Ivan D Souza were present.

The Bishop said that the Mangalore Diocese, which was officially announced on February 21, 1987, following Pope Leo XIII decreeing the erection in 1886, currently has 335 diocesan priests. There are 160 religious priests and 1600 women religious nuns serving the diocese. The entire diocese is divided into 15 deaneries with 10-12 parishes in each deanery. The spiritual preparation for the Jubilee began on Feb 6, 2011. During the veneration prayers were offered for the well-being of the people and for the peace and harmony in society. A project of constructing 161 houses for the poor was initiated with the involvement of the family, parish and diocese. A few houses are already completed and handed over to the beneficiaries. Other projects like constructing two hostels for the rural poor boys aspiring for higher studies in Mangalore, a shrine in Bajpe are in the initial stages, he said.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Mangaluru’s KPT becomes India’s first autonomous govt polytechnic

News Network

January 23,2026

Mangaluru: The Karnataka Government Polytechnic (KPT), Mangaluru, has achieved autonomous status from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), becoming the first government polytechnic in the country to receive such recognition in its 78-year history. The status was granted by AICTE, New Delhi, and subsequently approved by the Karnataka Board of Technical Education in October last year.

Officials said the autonomy was conferred a few months ago. Until recently, AICTE extended autonomous status only to engineering colleges, excluding diploma institutions. However, with a renewed national focus on skill development, several government polytechnics across India have now been granted autonomy.

KPT, the second-largest polytechnic in Karnataka, was established in 1946 with four branches and has since expanded to offer eight diploma programmes, including computer science and polymer technology. The institution is spread across a 19-acre campus.

Ravindra M Keni, the first dean of the institution, told The Times of India that AICTE had proposed autonomous status for polytechnic institutions that are over 25 years old. “Many colleges applied. In the first round, 100 institutions were shortlisted, which was further narrowed down to 15 in the second round. We have already completed one semester after becoming an autonomous institution,” he said. He added that nearly 500 students are admitted annually across eight three-year diploma courses.

Explaining the factors that helped KPT secure autonomy, Keni said the institution has consistently recorded 100 per cent admissions and placements for its graduates. He also noted its strong performance in sports, with the college emerging champions for 12 consecutive years, along with active student participation in NCC and NSS activities.

Autonomous status allows KPT to design industry-oriented curricula, conduct examinations, prepare question papers, and manage academic documentation independently. The institution can also directly collaborate with industries and receive priority funding from AICTE or the Ministry of Education. While academic autonomy has been granted, financial control will continue to rest with the state government.

“There will be separate committees for examinations, question paper setting, boards of studies, and boards of examiners. The institution will now have the freedom to conduct admissions without government notifications and issue its own marks cards,” Keni said, adding that new academic initiatives would be planned after a year of functioning under the autonomous framework.

Comments