School official resigns over havan

Mangaluru: The school development and monitoring committee (SDMC) president of a government higher primary school at Padibagilu in Vittal has resigned from his post after it was found that he had conducted a havan when the school reopened on May 16.
The Ganapathi havan attracted attention. Such practices are disallowed in government schools.
Jnanesha MP, the BEO of Bantwal, said villagers complained about the havan.
“Following the complaint, we conducted an inquiry and found out that the school SDMC president Balakrishna Karnath had led the ceremony. He also claimed that the havan was done on the school premises for the past 15 years. It is wrong even if it was conducted earlier,” Jnanesha said.
Jnanesha added that Karanth’s resignation had been submitted to the local panchayat, which looks after the school SDMC.