Public TV celebrates 12th anniversary, Kannadigas who were part of Ram Mandir feted

BENGALURU: Karnataka’s No. 1 television channel ‘Public TV’ celebrated its 12th anniversary on Monday at the headquarters. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the world of new, another year has passed. Public TV completed 12 long years and stepped into the 13th year while the Public Movies channel completed six years today.

Several popular Kannadigas, who had been involved in the construction of the Ram Mandir in different ways were honoured today at the Public TV office.

Supreme Court senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General K N Bhatt, who previously argued for Rama Lalla in the Allahabad High Court, renowned sculptor Arun Yogiraj from Mysuru and creator of the Rama Lalla  idol, Ramadas, the owner of the land from where the original Krishna stone for the Ram idol was excavated, another sculptor of Ram Lalla idol, Ganesh Bhat from Idagunji, Dr Rajan Babu, principal of KGF National Institute of Rock Technology (NIRM) who tested all the stones right from foundation laying to carving, Vijayendra Sharma who gave the muhurat time, Rajesh Shetty who was entrusted with the lighting of the temple, Gajanana Sharma who composed the ‘Rama’ song and Ramesh G Ramesh Thippanur, who designed the logo for the invitations sent out by the Ram Janmabhoomi trust were those who were felicitated.

All these achievers were felicitated by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi, Public TV chairman H R Ranganath and Manohar Naidu, head of Lahari Recording Company.

Public TV Chief  H R Ranganath, who spoke on the occasion, said that when Public TV started 12 years ago, many were sceptical of its survival. “If you remember those days, it was just like magic. There was some fear in those days. But now that fear is gone because the people of Karnataka are with us”, he said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi, who was the chief guest, said that Ranganath had introduced many achievers who did social service without any publicity through the ‘Public Hero’ programme. “Harekala Hajabba may have been awarded the Padma Shri by the government. But Harekala Hajabba was first introduced to the state by H R Ranganath. The Public Hero programme is doing very well. If I catch up on Public Hero on television, I watch the show on YouTube’, he said.

All those who were felicitated also briefly spoke about their experiences and their connection with the Ram temple at Ayodhya.