Puneeth Rajkumar's family members attended the award ceremony. The Chief Minister presented the prestigious award to the late actor's wife Ashwini Revanth.

New Delhi [India], October 9 (ANI): As the trailer of late Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar's upcoming docudrama 'Gandhada Gudi' released on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared words of praise for the project and called the actor "brilliance personified."

BENGALURU India Dec 30 2021 PRNewswire -- Through its Dr Rajkumar Eye Bank Narayana Nethralaya has been able to create awareness about the importance of eye donation since 1994 Now it has launched an exclusive number 8884018800 through which those who wish to pledge their eyes as a donation can register their names This exclusive number has been set up by the Dr Rajkumar Eye Bank of Narayana Nethralaya Pledging eyes means making a formal and voluntary commitment to donate eyes after ones demise Those who wish to pledge their eyes as a donation have to give a missed call to 8884018800 The eye bank will send a link to a form that has to be filled out to complete the formality of pledging Once the form is filled out and submitted the intended donor will immediately get an eye pledge certificate and further instructions for eventual eye donation The exclusive number was formally launched on Wednesday by film star Raghavendra Rajkumar who lost his younger brother popular star Puneeth Rajkumar two months ago Puneet Rajkumars eyes gave sight to four people thanks to a new technology adopted by Narayana Nethralaya Raghavendra Rajkumar announced the launch of the exclusive number at the Samadhi of Puneet Rajkumar where he along with some of his family members had come to pay respects and perform rituals to mark the punyatithi Addressing the media here Raghavendra Rajkumar said that many including him realised the kind of social service done by Puneeth only after his demise Today Puneeth is more seen as a role model by the people than an actor My father used to often tell us Vaidyo Narayano Harihi which means that a doctor should be seen as a form of Lord Narayana I believe in this I am grateful to Narayana Nethralaya and in particular Dr Bhujang Shetty for creating so much awareness among the people to donate eyes he said Dr Bhujang Shetty Chairman and MD Narayana Nethralaya said the hospitals eye bank has witnessed a huge swell in eye donation pledges So far more nearly 12000 people have pledged their eyes I am expecting at least seven lakh people soon to pledge their eyes with the missed phone call facility we have launched today he said Dr Shetty said that ever since Puneet Rajkumars eye donation the number of people volunteering to pledge their eyes has surged dramatically The generosity of the actor has inspired people he pointed out For the last 25 odd years Narayana Nethralaya has been running an eye donation pledge programme Dr Shetty observed that offline pledging is a cumbersome process Many people may have good intentions but dont know how or where to pledge their eyes The helpline would encourage more people to donate he added Dr Shetty also said the number of eye donation pledges in November 2021 was 10000 This is a record of sorts in Karnataka he pointed out Now it has touched 12000 In November 2021 234 eyes were collected from the donors and up to December 27th the number collected had been 209 This month so far more than 2000 people have already pledged their eyes Previously in a month the eye bank would only get anywhere between 100 to 200 pledges MJSPR appreciates the eye donation movement being carried out by Narayana Nethralaya MJSPR believes that the gift of vision is the best gift one can give to humanity The Dr Rajkumar Eye Bank of Narayana Nethralaya has launched an exclusive phone number with a missed call facility to facilitate people who want to pledge their eyes for donation MJSPR is all for spearheading the advocacy to reach out to the maximum number of people with this phone call facility About Dr Rajkumar Eye Bank Dr Rajkumar Eye Bank was set up in 1994 at Narayana Nethralaya Rajajinagar The legendary Kannada actor Dr Rajkumar not only lent his name to the eye bank but also pledged to donate his eyes at the inauguration of the eye bank The eye bank saw a large number of people pledging their eyes following the example set by Dr Rajkumar This movement gained momentum with the donation of eyes by Dr Rajkumar in April 2006 after his demise His wife Mrs Parvathamma Rajkumar also pledged her eyes and after her demise in 2017 her eyes were donated to the eye bank The eye donation movement got further boost after the family donated the eyes of the late Puneet Rajkumar For more information please contact Dr K Bhujang Shetty Chairman and Managing Director Email- chairmannarayananethralayacom M 9845010204 Photo httpsmmaprnewswirecommedia1717512NarayanaNethralayaExclusiveNumberLaunchjpg PWR PWR

Shivamogga (Karnataka) [India], November 13 (ANI): To pay tribute to the late Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar, an elephant calf at Sakrebailu elephant camp in Karnataka's Shivamogga district has been named after him.

Bengaluru Oct 31 PTI Kannada film star Puneeth Rajkumar was laid to rest with full state honours on Sunday morning at the Kanteerava studio here next to his parents Considered the Kannada cinemas reigning star Puneeth youngest of the five children of thespian and matinee idol Dr Rajkumar passed away at the age of 46 after suffering a cardiac arrest on Friday The final journey of the actors mortal remains began at about 530 AM from Kanteerava Stadium where it was kept since Friday evening for thousands of fans and well-wishers to pay their last respects to Kanteerava studio the final resting place covering a distance of about 13 km The mortal remains reached the studio at about 630 AM Puneeth was laid to rest in the early morning hours much ahead of the schedule of 10 am According to an official government release due to security reasons with the consent of the family members Puneeths last rites were performed much before the scheduled time Several political dignitaries including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai several of his cabinet colleagues former Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa and Siddaramaiah state Congress chief D K Shivakumar host of film personalities and members of Rajkumar family were among those who paid their last respects to the departed actor Bommai who had seen Puneeth since his childhood became emotional and was seen kissing his forehead before the last rites Due to security reasons and space constrains at the studio access to last rites was restricted to select dignitaries and family members Puneeth was accorded full state honours as the police band played the national anthem and police personnel fired three rounds in the air followed by two minutes of silence as a mark of respect The national tri-colour that was wrapped on Puneeths body was then handed over to his wife Ashwini Revanth by Chief Minister Bommai Following the actors death the state government had announced that his last rites will be conducted with state honours at Dr Rajkumar Punyabhoomi in Kanteerava Studio next to his father and mother The last rites were performed according to Ediga traditions by Puneeths nephew and actor Raghavendra Rajkumars eldest son Vinay Rajkumar Puneeths wife Ashwini Revanth and daughters Drithi and Vanditha his elder brothers Shivarajkumar Raghavendra Rajkumar and host of family members paid a tearful tearful adieu to their beloved Though the final journey and last rites took place in the early morning hundreds of his fans had gathered in front of Kanteerava studio and on the procession route to say their final good bye Thousands of grieving fans had flocked to the citys Kanteerava stadium since Friday evening from different parts of the state to pay their last respects to their favourite actor PTI KSU SS SS

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 30 (ANI): Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar's last rites are likely to be performed on Saturday, said Kamal Pant, Commissioner of Police (CP) Bengaluru today.