Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (JS/EP)
Udupi, May 22: Udupi district Congress held a programme of homage at Udupi district Congress Bhavan for the departed MLA and former Congress leader U R Sabhapathi.
District Congress president Ashok Kodavoor said that Sabhapathi had shared the stage for the last time on the death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi. “I began my political career due to him. He served at various stages in the party. He contested at district parishat for the first time in 1982 and won. He was a great leader. He had led the rescue operations during earthquake and tsunami at Andaman and Nicobar and Gujarat during his term as MLA. He was a born Congressman and died as a Congressman,” he said.
Former minister Vinay Kumar Sorake said that U R Sabhapathi was completing the work that he believed in at any cost. “He was a great humanist and had a clear blueprint of Udupi as its MLA. He had worked under Dr V S Acharya to bring Varahi river water to Udupi. He had the capacity to speak for hours in the assembly and question the government. He had held a health camp for about 18,000 patients at Udupi district hospital. He was a bold campaigner and humane politician,” he said.
Suryaprakash, director of Harsha Retail private limited said that U R Sabhapathi was an excellent organiser. “There used to be immense response to the programmes held by him. We are unfortunate not to have the benefits of his leadership. He did not receive the honour and position that he deserved,” he said.
Fr William Martis, Gananath Ekkar, Prasad Raj Kanchan and Diwaker Kunder also paid their homage. The District Congress offered floral tributes to the portrait of U R Sabhapathi.
The district Congress also paid homage to departed Congress leaders Sarvotham Pai, district Congress vice-president Vinod Rao and Lokayya Paniyadi.
Kishan Hegde Kolkebail, Dinesh Putran, B Narasimhamurthy, Bhasker Rao Kidiyoor, Kushala Shetty, Annayya Serigar, Veronica Corneleo, Harish Kini, Ramesh Kanchan, Dinaker Heroor and others were present.