Vidya Dan Samiti to celebrate 100 yrs, Sudha Murty to open celebrations

Gadag: The Vidya Dan Samiti, an educational institution, will celebrate its centenary on Saturday and Sunday.
Inspired by Lok Manya Tilak’s call to prepare students for the long-drawn freedom struggle the Youngmen’s Football Team established Vidya Dan Samiti in 1920 and over a century the Samiti has grown in size and stature and is now running eight institutions.
Sudha Murty, the founder of Infosys Foundation, will open the two-day celebrations at Swami Vivekananda auditorium on the APMC premises on Saturday at 9.30 am. She will do the bhoomi puja for the centenary memorial building.
Samiti president Dheerendra Huilgol said the alumni and former MP Vijay Sankeshwar will lay the foundation stone for the building while another alumni, MLA HK Patil, will inaugurate the Huilgol Narayanrao Pratisthana.
Former MLA DR Patil will preside over the inaugural session.
KLES director Shankaranna Munavalli will inaugurate an art exhibition while IT Consultant Ravi Melgiri will release a souvenir. Retired chief engineer GN Iyengar will inaugurate the alumni association.
Swami Nirbhayanand Saraswati of Ramakrishna Vivekananda Ashram will be present.
There will also be a session on education where experts GV Kulkarni, MLC SV Sankanur, art historian Chudamani Nandagopal, ISRO scientist Sudheendra Bindagi and Shrinivas Bandiganavile will speak on relevant topics.
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai will be the chief guest at the valedictory event on Sunday at 11 am. MLA HK Patil will preside over the event. Cultural programmes will be held on both days.