14 poor families will get houses in Nettaru’s name

Mangaluru: A Billava forum will construct houses for 14 poor families from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts in the name of slain BJP worker Praveen Nettaru.
Billava Brigade, an apolitical organisation working for the cause of the community members, wants at least one house named after Nettaru in each constituency of Undivided Dakshina Kannada district.
Advocate R Padmaraj, a Billava community leader, told TOI that the organisation wants to construct a house for Nettaru’s family for Rs 45 lakh. “We had identified a contractor and an advance amount was also paid. As BJP decided to provide a house to Nettaru’s family, the forum decided to help the poor. We have been receiving requests from poor families from the community in the coastal districts seeking financial help to build houses. We will scrutinise the applications and select eligible beneficiaries,” he said.
The main objective of the brigade is to discourage youth of the community from engaging in politics- and communal-related riots. “While several youths from the community are killed in the political and communal riots, many are languishing in jail,” he said.
Avinash Suvarna, president of Billava Brigade, said they do not seek donations from the public for charity works. “We have a wide network of Billava community leaders funding charity works. We take initiatives through the organisation and the benefits go to the community. We have active members from various political parties. We have no political intentions behind the charity works. Our objective is the welfare of the community,” he said.
The brigade has already commenced the process of constructing houses for the poor. As part of the project, Brigade members will visit the sites of two beneficiaries on Monday. The construction will begin soon after verifying documents related to the land of beneficiaries. Poor families who do not own land will also be provided houses in the next phase, he added.