Adiga’s contributions remembered

It was an occasion to remember the contributions of late Kakkunje Suryanarayana (KSN) Adiga, who strengthened the foundations of the Karnataka Bank, one of the successful banks in private sector in the country.

The former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Dharmasthala Surendra Kumar, among others, shared their memories on the occasion of his birth centenary celebrations organised by the bank here on Wednesday. Adiga’s contributions to society were not limited to the banking sector but extended to social, education and civic sectors, the speakers said.

Adiga, a lawyer by education and profession was the president of the erstwhile Mangalore Municipality and was responsible for creation of civic infrastructure, including drinking water from Netravathi, recalled the bank’s former director A.G. Kodgi.

Recalling his first interaction with Adiga thee decades ago when he was the chairman, Mr. Surendra Kumar said he was nominated as a director representing Dharmasthala. On the first meeting itself, Adiga had told him to study earlier Board minutes in detail for three months. “He mentored me as a good administrator,” Mr. Surendra Kumar said. He said Adiga was humane, citing one instance of the late long-term bank chairman asking the bank not to take repressive measures against a defaulter saying that the defaulter was a ‘good’ person.

Mr. Deve Gowda said though he had to be in Delhi on Thursday, he rescheduled his travel from Mangalore since he wanted to witness the entire programme. He said he was one of the first customers of the bank when it opened its branch at Holenarasipura. Thereafter, he used to avail crop loan of Rs. 25,000 every year. Adiga was a visionary and strengthened the bank, he said.

Speaking after releasing a special cover and special stamp, Chief Post Master General of Karnataka Circle M.S. Ramanujan said Adiga would be in the annals of contemporary history through the acts of the Postal Department. They would be part of the National Archives, he said. On the occasion, a memorabilia and a book on Adiga were released.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com/