Pics: Dayananda Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)
Mangaluru, Jul 15: "Once we take a vow of doing something for the society, we can do anything. I took the pledge of making difference to the society and I have been following it. I never felt that social service is a burden on me," said NRI businessman and philanthropist Ronald Colaco who was awarded the prestigious Times Now Global NRI of the Year Award 2017 in the category of philanthropy.
Speaking to media persons at a programme organized by media here at Hotel Ocean Pearl on Friday July 15, Colaco said, "We get only one life to live on this planet. I do not want to waste it. I give importance to humanity, the way my parents taught me. I teach the same to my children. There can never be any kind of disturbances in the society if all humans give importance to humanity."
Commenting about the role of media in the society, he said, "Media should take the responsibility of taking the name of Mangaluru to greater heights. They should stop giving communal colour to minor issues and making headlines out of crimes and communal violence. Incidents which bring bad name to the city should be given less importance in print and electronic media. Besides, media should give importance to development based debate programmes. They should educate people with new innovative ideas,"
"Media in foreign countries do not give any importance to crime and communal violence based news. That helps in maintaining peace in their countries. People think more about the country's integrity and development. We can see people in countries like China, Japan, Korea and Finland who are more into innovations and less interested in religion, caste, creed and community. Their media supports them with their programmes. Those countries are super successful now," he said.
"India too has human and natural resources. But, some political and communally backed elements are not allowing the better usage of the resources. Media should expose them. Negative news always hampers the growth of a nation. Mangaluru, which was known for its communal harmony earlier, is now famous for violence. People, especially living in foreign countries, treat Mangaluru as a communal sensitive region. Local media drag the matter and do the act of pouring oil into fire. This prevents the flow of business, industries, students and tourists into Mangaluru. Hence, this is the time for media and general public to think about this issue," he added.
Answering a query on the construction of a Hindu temple in Bengaluru by him, his huge donations to temples in Mangaluru and Bengaluru, he said, "I believe in love, and love means God. I never segregate people as Hindus, Christians and Muslims. My preference is to humanity. I get a special happiness in doing these things."
Speaking about his breakfast with American president Donald Trump, he said, "It was a great opportunity I got along with the representatives of 144 nations. I got to learn a lot of new things during the 3-day programme."
Jaganath Shetty Bala, president of Dakshina Kannada Working Journalists' Union; former president Harish Rai; Ravindra Shetty, president, Mangaluru Press Club and well-known photojournalist Dayananda Kukkaje felicitated Colaco with shawl and momento.
Founder of Daijiworld media Walter Nandalike, businessman Austin Peris, Denis D'Silva and others were present.