Mangaluru: If everything goes well as per the plan, then Mangaluru is likely to enter into a twinning programme with a city from Japan or South Korea, said MLC and KPCC working president Manjunath Bhandary.
“A delegation from Japan who had visited the city recently had initial talks with Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner. The twinning programme will focus on education, culture and IT related advances for the benefit of the students and citizens,” he told media people during the meet the press organised by Dakshina Kannada Working Journalists Association at Press Club in Mangaluru.
He said, “There are good opportunities for engineering graduates in Japan. Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management which he runs is planning to start a course in Japanese language for the benefit of the students."
"Accordingly, when the delegation from Japan had visited the city, they had met the district administration as well. After initiating the twinning programme in the city, the initiative will be taken to the state level,” he added.
Dakshina Kannada is known as an educational hub in the state with around 70,000 to 80,000 students from professional courses pursuing their studies in addition, there are 30,000 to 40,000 students pursuing their degree programmes.
However, there is a lack of opportunities in the district as the industries are not ready to come to the city following the ‘bad image’ the city has outside the district.
“There is a need to change the mindset and stigma attached to the city, to attract investors to invest, so that skilled graduates get employment in the district itself. Skilled employees do not intend to work with the IT majors in the city as they feel that the lack of nightlife, and social life in the city is a major hurdle,” he said.
The city has a bad image due to the incidents of moral policing, riots and so on. Citizens along with the government have a role to play in removing the stigma, he felt.
“I will discuss with the District in Charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on the need for night life by keeping the food joints open till late in the night, so that people can enjoy the city,” he said.
Minister Priyank Kharge is planning to hold an investors' meeting in the city shortly. He stressed the need to restore communal harmony in the district.
There are also plans to have a Marathon for communal harmony in the city by involving students and youth, he added.
Bhandary said that under the MLCLAD fund, he has been focusing on health, education especially government schools and gram panchayat buildings.
Through Bhandary Foundation, he has adopted Government Higher Primary and High School in Bengre Kasaba and a school at Benjanapadavu for the overall development.