Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed a rally at Karnataka’s Ujire. Modi’s one day rally started with a visit to Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district where he offered prayers at the Manjunatheshwara Temple. He then headed to address a public rally at Ujjire town near Dharmasthala and handed over RuPay cards to the Pradhan Mantri Jan Than Yojana (PMJDY) account holders. As a highlight of his address, Modi mentioned one name – Veerendra Hegde – several times during his address. Here’s is a look at a short profile of Veerendra Hegde:
Virendra Heggade is the current Dharmaadhikari (head) of Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala, the trust which controls a number of temples, including the famous Manjunatheshwara, in Karnataka’s Dharmasthala town. Heggade profile on his official website defines Hegde as a multidimensional individual who is a Dharmaadhikari, reformer, educationist, philosopher and philanthropist. It says he has contributed for 48 year, in social, economic and cultural development of the society.
In 2015, Heggade was awarded the second highest award a civilian can receive in India, the Padma Vibhushan. Heggade had become the Dharmadhikari at age of 20 in 1968. A multifaceted personality, he controls the administration as the chief of many programmes promoted by the organisation. He is also known as the architect of modern Dharmasthala.
As the chief of Manjunatha Swamy Temple, he has implemented several unique programmes for the welfare of society. Some of the programmes founded by him include SDM education society promoted for quality education, mass marriage programme, Rural Development Self Employment Training Institute (RUDSETI), Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Medical Trust (R), Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Dharmothana Trust (R.) etc.
Apart from the initiative, he is a recipient of Padma Vibhushan, Padmabhushan, Karnataka Rathna, Rajiv Gandhi Award (by regional congress committee Mumbai), Jindal International Award.