Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi

Udupi, Aug 14: Food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Rizwan Arshad, who was elected as MLA from the Shivajinagar constituency in Bengaluru and is serving his first term in the cabinet, has been appointed as the Udupi district in-charge minister.

A BCom graduate, 46-year-old Arshad was first elected as an MLA in the 2019 Shivajinagar by-elections. Beginning his political journey through the NSUI in 1995-96, he has previously served as a senate member of Mysore University. From 2004 to 2010, he served as the state vice-president and later as the national secretary of the Youth Congress. In 2011, he became the first elected president of the state Youth Congress.

On Saturday, he will hoist the national flag and deliver the Independence Day message during the nation's 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Mahatma Gandhi district stadium in Udupi. He arrived in Udupi on Friday night ahead of the scheduled events.

His itinerary for Saturday is as follows:

• 7:30 am: Flag hoisting programme organised by the district Congress Seva Dal near the city service bus stand.

• 8:00 am: Flag hoisting at the district Congress office in Nairkere.

• 8:30 am: Paying homage to the martyrs at the martyrs' memorial near Ajjarkad stadium.

• 8:35 am: Laying the foundation stone for the basketball court near Ajjarkad stadium.

• 8:45 am: Inauguration of the Ajjarkad stadium roofing work.

• 9:00 am: Participation in the main Independence Day flag hoisting programme at Ajjarkad stadium.

• 12:00 pm: Participation in a Youth Congress programme at the LIC Leeco Bank auditorium.

• 12:15 pm: Inauguration of the Illu Foods masala powder unit of the Udupi Mahila Kisan Producer Company, organised by the zilla panchayat at the Shivalli horticulture farm in Doddanagudde.

• 12:30 pm: Inauguration of the 'Akka Cafe' organised by the zilla panchayat near Nairkere road in Brahmagiri, after which he will proceed to Mangaluru.