Mangalore : Dr Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala has  inaugurated the Mangalore Dasara 2013 at the Sri Gokarnanatha Kshetra Kudroli on October 10, Thursday. The 101st annual celebrations of the temple, were also inaugurated on the occasion.

In his address, Dr Heggade appreciated the beauty of the temple and said it provided solace to the minds of the devotees who pray to Lord Gokarnanatha.He  urged the society to fight against the evils and the rising crimes in the society.

B Janardhan Poojari, former union minister, who spoke on the occasion, thanked Heggade for visiting the temple and inaugurating the Dasara.He also gifted a Radha Krishna idol to Dr Heggade.

Several dignitaries including State Ministers Ramanatha Rai, UT Khader, Abhayachandra Jain, Legislators Shakuntala Shetty, JR Lobo, Malathi Janardhan Poojari, Urmila Ramesh Kumar, Harikrishna Bantwal, Arati Krishna, Cultural Ambassador  to US, KP Nanjundi. HS Sairam, Padmaraj Karkera and others were present.