The 107th birth anniversary of former Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs was observed here on Saturday with Minister for Co-operation S.T. Somashekar paying glowing tributes to the ‘champion of backward classes’ by recalling the silent revolution he ushered in the State through various welfare measures including the programmes to uplift the poor and weaker sections.
Inaugurating the anniversary celebrations organised by the Mysuru district administration along with Department of Backward Classes Welfare and Mysuru Zilla Panchayat at Kalamandira in Mysuru, Mr. Somashekar said Mr. Urs was an exemplary Chief Minister, who held the reins of the State for almost eight years in the 1970s.
Mr. Somashekar, who is also Minister in charge of Mysuru district, recalled that Mr. Urs was born in Kalahalli village in Hunsur taluk and went on to become CM after studying in Mysuru. He said the ‘land for the tiller’ programme launched by Mr. Urs was a revolution that helped lakhs of landless labourers and poor farmers become owners of land that they tilled. A life-size statue of Mr. Urs will come up at the new Deputy Commissioner’s office on Bannur Road in Siddhartha Nagar. The cost of the project is estimated to be around ₹92 lakh and the work will start shortly, he said.
