Annual Billava meeting turns out to be chaotic

Annual Billava meeting turns out to be chaotic

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Feb 21, 2012: The annual general body meeting of the Akhila Bharata Billavara Union, which was held in the premises of Shri Narayana Guru College in Kudroli on Feb 21 Tuesday, was fraught with differences of opinion and disturbances. 

The union was founded in 1920, eight years after the founding of the Shri Gokarnatheshwar Temple in Kudroli. Damodar Suvarna was the president of the union for several years till his death in 1993. Ever since the death of Mr. Suvarna, his son Naveenchandar D. Suvarna has been the president of the organization. His wife Sumalatha Naveenchandra Suvarna is the president of the women’s wing of the union, which was formed several years back. 

 

 

 

 

A huge section of the Billava community is of the opinion that the organization requires change of leadership, as it has been under the control of one family for several years. A few members have even suggested that the organization requires to be given a national character by drawing Billavas from all over India and by uniting the community under a single umbrella. 

Moreover, since the Kudroli Temple has completed 100 years, community members felt that the meeting ought to have been held on Feb 20 and all the members ought to have been invited. They wanted to know why the meeting was held in advance and several people were not even informed about it. 

Members of the community had arrived in large numbers from places such as Ullal, Bantwal, Suratkal, Mulki, and others. According to certain unofficial reports, the doors of the venue were closed, but those outside wanted to talk to the leaders and entered using force, with some members resorting to stone pelting. The police had to intervene to bring the situation under control. 

Later, B. Shankar Poojary addressed the crowd and said that, although they had tried to contact all the members of the community, they might have missed a few names. He also said that all misunderstandings among community members will be solved soon and within 3 more months, another meeting will be convened.