Inchara Udupi
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Aug 5: Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal, Bam Dev Gautam, conferred the 'Pride of Asia' award to Aikalabava Dr Deviprasad Shetty from Udupi, during an international conference organized by Indo-Nepal Friendship and Economic Development in Kathmandu on Sunday August 3.

Dr Deviprasad Shetty, speaking after accepting the honour, said that the concept of rural development adopted by India stands as a model for the whole world. He said that the aspects of decentralization of power, giving sweeping powers to gram panchayats, e-governance system, providing civic amenities, and garbage disposal attain maximum importance, and felt that rural development can be an interesting topic for joint study by India and Nepal.

In his address, Bam Dev Gautam noted that India has performed admirably after independence in the field of rural development. He felt that the secret for this success lies in the trust successive governments which ruled India had reposed in the 'Rama Rajya' concept preached by Mahatma Gandhi. "The Nepal government adopted a special draft constitution on panchayat development in 1991. We are honoured by the visit of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to republican Nepal after a gap of 17 years. As Modi too has lot of interest in rural development, Nepal wants to follow in India's footsteps on this front," he claimed.

Guru Arjun Prasad Bastola, chairman of Universal Sanatan Dharam Foundation, in his address said,
"India and Nepal are bonded in a strong relationship since the times of Vedas. Nepalese mythology speaks about the stay of Pandavas in Nepal and also penance by sage Vishwamitra on the banks of River Kosi in the country. "There are examples of some political leaders getting political asylum in Nepal when former prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, imposed a state of emergency. Towards cementing this religious, historic and traditional relationship between the two neighbouring countries, there is a need to come together to root out the problem of crime and corruption."

Defence minister of Nepal, Vidya Devi Bhandary, who addressed the gathering, said that Nepal extends red carpet welcome for Indian investors. She invited Indian industrialists of international repute to invest in Nepal.

Nepal minister for general administration, Raveendra Shrestha, former deputy prime minister, Bharat Mohan Adhikari, K P Shaved Oli, industries minister, Pramanand Jha, MP, Rao Bahadur Thapa, chief secretary of Nepal, B S Sachdev, convener of Economical Growth, Prakash Goel, and people from different countries who were chosen for this award, participated in the function.

Dr Aikalabava Deviprasad Shetty, Balapu has achieved special recognition for his work towards rural development and in the spehere of social service. He has won several state, national and international awards and doctorate from Colombo University in Sri Lanka.

"I am happy that international awards have been conferred on me. I hope that it will be an inspiration to other too. I am grateful to the villagers, officials and people's representatives regardless of their parties for their support. Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and Udupi district incharge minister Vinay Kumar Sorake helped me grow to this level," said Dr Shetty in Udupi.