Prayers offered at temples, church, dargah for favourable Yettinahole verdict

September 14, 2016

Mangaluru, Sep 14: The Nethravati Rakshana Samyukta Samiti, a forum of various organisations that are fighting against Yettinahole river diversion project, on Wednesday performed prayers at different religious centres in and around Mangaluru seeking divine intervention for a favourable verdict by National Green Tribunal (NGT).

As many as four petitions against the controversial project are due for hearing by the Principal Bench of NGT in Delhi on September 21. The petitions were filed by former deputy mayor of Mangaluru City Corporation Purushotham Chitrapur, environmentalists C Yathiraju, K N Somashekar and Kishore Kumar.

Representatives of the forum on Wednesday visited various religious centres and offered puja. Special prayers were held at Kadri Sri Manjunatha Temple at 8.30am, Milagres Church at 10am, Sri Mangaladevi Temple at 11am, Ullal Sayyid Madani Dargah at noon and Sri Gokarnanatha Temple at 1pm.

Samiti president and former MLA K Vijayakumar Shetty said that special prayers were offered to seek divine intervention and blessings so that the verdict from NGT favours people of Dakshina Kannada district.

On a proposal mooted by the government to set up desalination plants to convert sea water into drinking water for 12 districts, the former MLA said it is a non-viable scheme.

"Desalination plant is not an ideal solution for drinking water crisis as it is very expensive. Why people of coastal districts should prefer desalination projects when we have our own water resources. Let the government set up desalination plants to supply drinking water for people of Kolar, Chikkaballapur and other parched districts. Let people of Coastal Karnataka use their own water resources like Nethravati River," he added.

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Major facelift for Mangaluru's sporting heart: Mangala Stadium set for 2-month closure to upgrade synthetic track

News Network

December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Educational institutions in Mangaluru that rely on the popular Mangala Stadium for their annual sports events are bracing for an inconvenience as the city's key sporting venue is set to close its gates for a significant upgrade. The stadium is expected to be unavailable for approximately two months starting from January 15, 2026.

The closure is necessitated by a proposed overhaul of the stadium's facilities, with a special focus on upgrading the synthetic track. Pradeep Dsouza, Assistant Director of the District of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES), Dakshina Kannada, confirmed the development.

"Experts have visited the stadium, conducted a thorough inspection, and have given the go-ahead for a complete makeover," Dsouza stated. "Funds have been allocated for the project, and we are currently awaiting the final green signal from state officials to commence the work. We anticipate that the work will likely begin in the second week of January. Consequently, we have stopped renting out the stadium to colleges and other organizations in preparation for the upgrade."

The timing presents a logistical challenge for colleges, as many schools have already concluded their sports meets.

"Colleges will now be organizing their events and will need to find alternative locations to host their sports meets," Dsouza added. He suggested a few potential venues, including the Dakshina Kannada police ground, University College grounds, Panambur grounds, Swaraj Maidan in Moodbidri, and the Mangalore University sports grounds in Konaje.

However, many institutions note that finding a comparable venue will be difficult. While the DK police ground and University College grounds are closer to the city center, they do not possess the extensive facilities and infrastructure offered by Mangala Stadium.

Dr. P Dayananda Pai - P Satisha Govt First Grade College, Carstreet, is one such institution dependent on the stadium. Principal Jayakar Bhandary expressed hope for a swift completion of the work. "We expect the work to be completed at the earliest. If not, we will be forced to look for other venues to host the sports day for our students," Bhandary said, highlighting the pressing need for the city's main sporting facility.

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