BENGALURU/SHIVAMOGGA: In a gesture that’s getting attention across Karnataka, Primary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa marked his 60th birthday not with grand celebrations, but by flying out 96 pourakarmikas to Bengaluru, on their first-ever airplane journey.
It was a two-day celebration. On Sunday, 36 workers from Soraba Town Municipality boarded a 65-minute flight from Shivamogga to Bengaluru.
On Monday, another group of 60 from Anavatti Town Panchayat is set to follow, with the minister himself accompanying them. A third group of 59 workers will arrive by train early Monday, ahead of a joint cake-cutting celebration in the capital. The first group will stay in Bengaluru and join in the birthday celebrations.
Flight tickets, costing between Rs 2,300 and Rs 2,500 each, were arranged in advance by the minister’s team.
Organisers said every pourakarmika from the selected municipalities was included. It was the minister’s gift to civic sanitation workers who keep towns in running condition.
At Shivamogga airport, the atmosphere was filled with excitement and emotion. Nervous laughter, teary eyes and radiant smiles marked a rare moment of recognition for the workers, all from Scheduled Caste communities, whose daily routine involves sweeping streets and keeping footpaths clean.