D. Veerendra Heggade, Pattadhikari of Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy Temple, speaking at the 59th anniversary of his pattabhisheka (coronation) in Dharmasthala on Saturday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
President of Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Educational (SDME) Society, Ujire, D. Veerendra Heggade announced on Saturday that the society will open a nursing college and a physiotherapy college at Ujire.
In addition, a sports hostel for female students will be established in Ujire, he said.
He was speaking in Dharmasthala on Saturday, at the 59th anniversary celebration of his pattabhisheka (coronation) as the Pattadhikari of Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy Temple.
Mr. Heggade said that a state-of-the-art cath lab will be opened at Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Multi-Speciality Hospital in Ujire in collaboration with Narayana Health, Bengaluru, at a cost of approximately ₹11 crore. With this, angiogram and angioplasty services will be made available to people at the hospital.
He said that a hostel for girl students will be built at Shravanabelagola.
Mr. Heggade, also a Rajya Sabha member, noted that traditional treatment methods are being actively promoted at the Ayurveda hospitals managed by the society in Udupi, Hassan, and Bengaluru, as well as at the Naturopathy hospitals in Dharmasthala and Parika.
Speaking on the occasion, Raghavendra Srinivas Bhat, Managing Director and CEO of Karnataka Bank, said that Mr. Heggade has upheld and nurtured the fourfold tradition of dana (charity), annadana (offering food), vidyadana (offering education), abhayadana (offering protection/reassurance), and aushadhadana (offering medicine) in alignment with the heritage of Dharmasthala.
Published - October 25, 2026 06:24 pm IST