Mangaluru: Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader said that continuous research is essential to achieve excellence in the field of physiotherapy.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the valedictory ceremony of the two-day international physiotherapy conference ‘Mangalore PhysioCon-2026’, organised by the South Canara Physiotherapy Teachers Association at TMA Pai Convention Centre in the city.

Khader said physiotherapy today offers wide opportunities and has seen growing demand not only in India but across the world. He noted that three decades ago, very few students opted for physiotherapy education, but now the course has gained significant global demand.

He also said that there were no government physiotherapy colleges in the state earlier, and that the first such college was started during his tenure as Health Minister. He added that the institution has now emerged as one of the best in the state.

Chairman of Tejaswini Hospital Group of Institutions, Prof M. Shantharam Shetty, said physiotherapists play an important role in reducing patients’ pain in the present healthcare system.

Awards presented

On the occasion, Dr Shantharam Shetty was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Best Academician awards were presented to Dr Lourduraj I (Principal, Yenepoya Physiotherapy College), Dr Prabhu (MEM College of Physiotherapy, Bengaluru) and Dr Prasanna Kumar (East Point College of Physiotherapy).

The Best Clinician awards were given to Sherin George (Sparsha Hospital, Bengaluru), Basavaraj Nanjanavar (Belagavi) and Dr Sumita Hemavathi (Bengaluru).

A special award was presented to Dr Shravan Poojari of Masood College of Physiotherapy.

Among those present were Dr U.K. Monu, president of Kanachur Islamic Education Trust; Vasanth Hegde, chairman of Oxford Group of Institutions; Dr Abdul Shakeel, chairman of Abdul Shakeel Charitable Trust; Dr Suresh Babu Reddy, vice-president of the Indian Association of Physiotherapists; Dr Sai Kumar N., Dean, Allied & Physiotherapy, Sanjay Gandhi College of Physiotherapy; Dr V.R. Ayyappan, chairman of physiotherapy at RGUHS; and organising committee of Mangalore PhysioCon 2026 Dr U.T. Iftikhar Fareed.







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Mysuru: Police have arrested five people in two separate cases where betting for the IPL cricket matches was going on, and have confiscated various equipment used by the arrested men for the illegal activity.

In the first case, Hebbal Police arrested two men who were reportedly found betting during the IPL cricket matches, and have confiscated one laptop and three mobile phones from the arrested men.

The arrested men are identified as Pradeep (39) and Praful (21) of Naidu Nagar.

The police team is learned to have conducted the operation on the third floor of a hotel within the Hebbal Police Station limits on getting information of betting over the IPL matches going on. The gamblers allegedly were getting citizens to invest money online and betting illegally on IPL matches over mobile phones and laptops in order to illegally earning money from them.

Pradeep and Praful were taken into custody by the police who have filed a case and are investigating it.

The second incident occurred near the Town Hall on Thursday, May 7, when Devaraja Police arrested three men who were gambling.

The police have arrested Kumar (33) of Mandimohalla, PV Vinod (32) of Ilava and Likhith Kumar (27) of Paduvarahalli.

The three men were reportedly carrying out their criminal activity inside a car parked behind the Town Hall on Thursday, in order to earn money from the IPL tournament through a mobile phone. They were also found to have gotten citizens to invest money online and off-line in the cricket matches.

They were found and arrested by policemen who were on beat in the area near the Town Hall. In addition, one car, Rs 15,900 in cash and three mobile phones were seized from them.

A case has been registered by the Devaraja Police officers, who are investigating the case.