BELAGAVI: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and governor Vajubhai Vala did not attend the 18th annual convocation of Visvesvaraya Technological University ( VTU ) on Monday due to the national mourning announced following the death of Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar.VTU had made elaborate arrangements for the Vice-President’s welcome by spending around Rs 2 crore on the convocation’s stage and pandal. It was the first-time, that the convocation programme was being held outside the auditorium.On Monday morning, university authorities came to know that Naidu had cancelled the trip to Belagavi due to the mourning. There were no guests for the gala event as governor Vajubhai Vala too remained absent.In the absence of both the dignitaries, vice-chancellor Karisiddappa inaugurated the convocation and along with registrar (evaluation) Satish Annigeri distributed medals and certificates to rank holders. As per protocol, VTU a government university should not hold the convocation at the time of mourning. However, as the convocation is an academic programme and students from different parts of the country and abroad had arrived to collect their degree certificates, VTU decided to go ahead with the programme as a low key affair.Since the past one-week, police and the district administration were busy with security arrangements in the backdrop of the Vice-President’s visit. On Monday, traffic on a majority of roads entering the city was diverted and SSLC students too were urged to reach their respective examination centres before 8am to clear the roads for Venkaiah Naidu’s convoy.Meanwhile, V-C Karisiddappa conferred doctor of science honorary degree on Padma awardee B Girish Bharadwaj, popularly known as Bridge Man. So far, Bharadwaj has built 137 suspension foot-over-bridges across rivers in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.Suchitra N of Jain Institute of Technology, Davanagere bagged nine gold medals, the highest this year. She secured the first rank and the highest marks in Irrigation Engineering and Hydraulic Structures in 6th semester and also stood first in BE Civil Engineering.Suchitra said she used to study for six to eight hours every day, adding that the cooperation from her parents, friends and faculty helped her to score more. Suchitra is now studying M.Tech and intends to become a lecturer.Madhushree S R of Bapuji Institute of Engineering and Technology, Davanagere and Meghana Prakash of Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering, Mysuru, bagged six gold medals each. Madhushree secured the highest marks with 1st class, scored the highest in UG/BE among SC/ST students and got the highest marks in BE Civil Engineering. She said she was preparing for public service examinations.Meghana Prakash, who secured the first rank in Electronics and Communication Engineering and got the highest marks among rank holders in any batch of BE, said she is working in a private company and plans to go for higher studies. She said smart studies for one hour every day helped her score well.

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