Mangaluru: Surfing extravaganza begins Friday; click here for schedule

[email protected] (CD Network)
May 25, 2017

Mangaluru, May 25: Bollywood action superstar and local boy Suniel Shetty was announced as the event ambassador for the second edition of the Indian Open of Surfing today.

Surfing1

The three day surfing extravaganza, that would witness over 120 surfers of national and international origin vie for top honours, beings tomorrow from 7:30 am onwards at the Sasihithlu beach, Mangaluru.

“Surfing is a thrilling sport which has now caught the eyes of the Indians. The sport has given a lot of opportunity to the locals around the coastal belt of India generating employment and revenue sources. It’s a great initiative by the Karnataka Government and Mantra surf Club in promoting our beaches and various adventure sports possible here. In its second edition, I can already see a considerable spike in interest amongst the locals as well as a lot of water sport lovers. It fills me with pride and honour to support the sport which I can proudly say has originated in India from my home town,” remarks Sunil Shetty about his association with the event.

The competition, which expects to see over 120 national and international participants, is a part of the ‘Karnataka Surfing Festival’. The championship is recognized by the International Surfing Association and Surfing Federation of India and is organized by Dakshina Kannada district administration in association with Karnataka Tourism, Kanara Surfing and Water Sports Promotion Council in partnership with the country’s oldest surf club, Mantra Surf Club.

“We are excited to have Sunil Shetty as the event ambassador. What adds on to the happiness is that he is also a local boy. Surfing as a sport needs this push and support for it to grow. The Event would not have been possible without the support of the Karnataka Tourism who, have made it a part of their annual Karnataka Beach Festival. I would also like thank Trip 360 by Cox & Kings, TT Group of Companies and Union Bank of India for lending their support to the event,” says Kishore Kumar, President, Surfing Federation of India.

The second edition of the ‘Indian Open of Surfing’ is open to public and is an effort by Karnataka Tourism to promote the state as an international surfing & water sports destination. Celebrities will be invited for the closing ceremony. The Government of Karnataka will be promoting the event nationwide with the intention of showcasing Mangaluru as the premiere surfing destination in the country. The event will also include some very interesting cultural and musical performances from local as well as national bands. A food festival along with activities like beach volleyball, Slack lining, and skateboarding and mixed martial arts demo would be the added attractions for both the surfers as well as visitors at the Sasihithlu beach.

Schedule for the Second Edition of Indian Open of Surfing:

Day - 1 May 26

• 7:30 AM - Surfing Contest Begins & continues till 12:30 PM
• 8:00 AM (Onwards)- Slack lining, Skateboarding activities will begin for the day.
• 9:00 AM (Onwards) - Inauguration Ceremony Preparation
• 10:00 AM - Inauguration Ceremony - Surfing Contest will stop
• 11:30 AM - Women's SUP Race - 1st Heat
• 12:30 PM - Lunch Break
• 1:30 PM - Women's SUP Race - 2nd Heat
• 3:30 PM - Finish of Day 1 Surfing Contest
• 4:30 PM - Stage Program Begins

Day - 2 May 28

• 7:30 AM - Surfing Contest Begins & continues till 12:30 PM
• 7:30 AM - Beach Volleyball
• 8:00 AM (Onwards)- Slack lining, Skateboarding activities will begin for the day.
• 12:30 PM - Men's SUP Race - 1st Heat
• 1:00 PM - Lunch Break
• 3:30 PM - Finish of Day 2 Surfing Contest
• 4:30 PM - Stage Program Begins

Day - 3 May 29

• 7:30 AM - Semi-Finals & Finals of all Men's & Women's Surf Categories.
• 8:00 AM (Onwards) Slacklining, Skateboarding activities will begin for the day.
• 9:00 AM - Interaction
• 12:30 PM - Lunch Break
• 2:00 PM - Start of Men's SUP Finals
• 3:00 PM - Finish of all Surf finals categories.
• 4:00 PM - Award Ceremony
• 5:00 PM - Live Music & Stage Programs Begins

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 27,2024

lebenon.jpg

At least seven people have been killed when Israeli warplanes bombed an emergency center in southern Lebanon near the border with the 1948 Israeli-occupied territories with air-to-surface missiles, according to Lebanese security sources.

Two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity said early on Wednesday that the strike targeted the Islamic Group’s emergency and relief center in Lebanon’s southern village of Habbariyeh.

Jamaa Islamiya, a Lebanese group closely linked to the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, said in a statement that “a number” of people had been killed, and called the strike a “heinous crime.”

An official from the group said “seven rescuers” were killed in the aerial assault.

Another Jamaa Islamiya official, also requesting anonymity, said a dozen medical staff were in the emergency center at the time of the strike, adding that bodies were being pulled from the rubble.

Lebanese lawmaker Hassan Mrad said “the Israeli aggression on Habbariyeh adds to the long list of Israeli crimes.”

Israel has been launching air strikes against Lebanon since the beginning of its onslaught against the Gaza Strip in early October.

An Israeli strike knocked down part of a building in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh on February 14, killing seven members of the same family, including a child, Lebanon’s official National News Agency said. A boy initially reported missing was found alive under the rubble.

In a separate Israeli attack, a woman and her two children were killed in the village of as-Sawana in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli regime launched its devastating hostilities in the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the territory’s Hamas-led Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.

Israel's raids have resulted in retaliatory strikes from Hezbollah in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

The movement has vowed to keep up its retaliatory operations as long as the Tel Aviv regime continues its onslaught on Gaza.

The Israeli campaign in Gaza has killed at least 32,414 people, most of them women and children. Another 74,787 individuals have also been wounded.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 25,2024

reddymining.jpg

Bengaluru, Mar 25: Former Karnataka Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy on Monday rejoined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Gangavati MLA, who is an accused in an illegal mining case, had formed the 'Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha' (KRPP) ahead of the state assembly polls last year, snapping his two-decade-old association with the BJP.

Reddy today merged his KRPP with the BJP as he, along with wife Aruna Lakshmi and some family members, joined the party in the presence of its veteran leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, state President B Y Vijayendra, and others.

Reddy had recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.

However, in the February 27 Rajya Sabha polls he had extended support to the Congress candidate.

Calling it a "home coming", Reddy explained that the move to merge KRPP with the BJP is to "make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister a third time".

"Amit Shah had invited me to Delhi and told me that -- there is no question of extending outside support (KRPP supporting BJP in LS polls) and instead I should join the BJP and work for it, as I took my political birth in the party. Accepting it, I'm joining the party," he said.

Praising Yediyurappa and the leader's contribution in his political growth, Reddy said he is happy that he will be working in the party now with the veteran leader's son Vijayendra.

"I will work as a common party worker along with other leaders under the leadership of Vijayendra. I have not come with any conditions or expectations. Whatever responsibility the party gives me, I will honestly work.

"BJP was always there in my blood, but due to some reasons I had gone out, but today I feel I have come back to my mother's lap. Looking at my brothers here, I don't feel like I'm coming back to the BJP office after 13 years," he added.

Welcoming Reddy back into the party, Vijayendra said his joining will strengthen BJP in the Kalyana Karnataka region.

"Liking Narendra Modi's leadership and accepting BJP's ideology, Reddy has rejoined the party. Reddy has said that Karnataka should have a larger contribution in making Modi PM once again -- to ensure that BJP and JD(S) alliance win all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, he is merging his KRPP with BJP and is joining the party," he said.

Before the assembly polls last year, Reddy had been largely politically inactive for nearly 12 years since his arrest by the CBI for an alleged role in a mining scam. During this period, he had a brief stint ahead of the 2018 assembly polls when he campaigned for his close friend and former Minister B Sriramulu in Molakalmuru Assembly segment.

In the run up to the 2018 assembly polls, the then BJP national president Amit Shah, in response to a reporter's question, had distanced the party from him and stressed that "the BJP has nothing to do with Janardhana Reddy." Accused in a multi-crore illegal mining case, he has been out on bail since 2015. Several conditions were imposed by the top court in its order which includes prohibiting him from visiting Ballari in Karnataka and Ananthpur and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.

Because of these restrictions, he had to contest the 2023 Assembly polls from Gangavati in Koppal district.

Expressing his displeasure about the way BJP had ignored him, Reddy had announced a new party last year and also took a dig at his brothers -- Karunakara Reddy and Somashekar Reddy -- and Sriramulu, as they remained with the BJP.

The three of them had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls, with Reddy's new party said to have impacted their performance in the election.

Sriramulu, a ST community leader and former Minister is now the BJP's candidate from the Bellary (Ballari) Lok Sabha constituency.

Reddy had played an instrumental role in strengthening the BJP in the Ballari district and is still believed to enjoy a considerable clout there as well as in adjoining districts like Chitradurga, Koppal and Raichur, which could be useful for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.

Reddy and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, managing director of Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC), were arrested by the CBI on September 5, 2011.

The company is accused of changing mining lease boundary markings and indulging in illegal mining in the Ballari Reserve Forest area, spread over Ballari in Karnataka and the Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh.

Reddy first came to political limelight during the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, when he campaigned for BJP leader, the late Sushma Swaraj, who had contested against Congress' Sonia Gandhi from Ballari.

Former Congress Minister T John's son Thomas John also joined the BJP today.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 27,2024

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday launched simultaneous raids in multiple places, including Bengaluru and Shivamogga.

Reports suggested that the ongoing raids are in connection with the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe on March 1. The blast had injured at least ten people as per the police report.

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) had launched an investigation alongside the NIA, and the trail of the suspect led them to Tumakuru first and subsequently to Ballari. Investigators believe that the bomb was planted by Mussavir Hussain Shazib, a handler of the Islamic State’s Shivamogga module who was aided by another IS handler called Ahmed Taahaa.

Sources in the know said that Shazib and Taahaa had stayed in Chennai for about a month between January and February using fake credentials. The names of the suspects were identified after they traced the cap worn by Shazib to a shop in a mall in Chennai. The cap, which was abandoned by the bomber in Bengaluru after the blast, was reportedly bought by Taahaa, around January-end.

As per the NIA, Shazib hails from Masjid Road in Thirthahalli, Shivamogga district, and Taahaa from Fish Market Road, Soppu Gude, Thirthahalli Rural. Both "wanted" suspects have been termed "absconders" by the NIA.

The NIA has questioned seven jailed terror suspects so far in connection with the blast. The investigation agency had also obtained seven-day custody of a jailed terror suspect named Maaz Muneer Ahmed.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.