Continuing with social reform initiatives, the Kudroli Gokarnanatha Temple here is set to launch Vidya Nidhi, a scheme to provide financial aid for poor students for higher studies, during the during 10-day Mangaluru Dasara that starts on September 21. The temple will also launch Aarogya Nidhi, a scheme to meet treatment expenses of the poor.
Members of the Gokarnanatha temple development committee have decided to come out with the two new social welfare schemes as per the advice by senior Congress leader B. Janardhan Poojary.
The Kudroli Gokarnanatha Temple is known for some path-breaking initiatives during the 10-day Dasara celebrations. Starting with allowing widows to participate in the pujas during the 10-day programme, the temple appointed two widows as priests in 2013. The temple has been offering free meals to nearly 600 students in the locality since 1990.
Padmaraj R., treasurer of the temple committee, said that under the Vidya Nidhi programme, the temple committee will help meritorious students who find it hard to meet the expenses for higher education. “This financial assistance is for those who are poor, regardless of the community they belong too,” Mr. Padmaraj said.
Similarly, under the Aarogya Nidhi, the temple will meet the treatment expenses of the poor. The committee has proposed to come out with a health card offering free treatment at select private hospitals.
Temple committee member Harikrishna Bantwal said that the committee is raising corpus of ₹ 3 crore from devotees to run the two schemes.
Earlier, addressing reporters after reviewing arrangements for the festival, Mr. Poojary said that a Minister from the State government will inaugurate the Shobha Yatra on September 30, which is the last day of the festival. “This would be my last Dasara programme,” said Mr. Poojary, pointing out at the physical discomfort he was facing because of ill health.