Mangaluru gears up for grand Tulu language and culture festival

Mangaluru, Sept 9: An action committee has voiced concerns about the construction of a new toll plaza near Sooralpady Masjid on the Mangaluru-Moodbidri-Karkala National Highway 169, 17 km from Nanthoor. Amidst ongoing construction, the Action Committee Against Surathkal Toll Gate claims irregularities and poor site selection.

Committee convener Muneer Katipalla noted that only 50% of the Nanthoor-Moodbidri-Karkala highway upgrade is complete after seven to eight years. The Nanthoor-Vamanjoor stretch remains unfinished, causing traffic issues, while dangerous hillside cutting near Kettikal has forced residents to relocate. Additionally, a flyover near Kaikamba threatens a local market.

Katipalla also criticized the construction of a bypass road, alleging it benefits real estate investors and inflates the project cost, which could increase toll fees. The proposed toll plaza, situated 36 km from Talapady toll gate and 35 km from Brahmarakotlu toll gate, violates distance regulations and is too close to local amenities, raising public objections.

There is growing concern that toll collection might begin before the project's completion, with locals frustrated by unaddressed grievances. Social activist Bava Padarangi, DYFI leader Srinath Kulal, and other community leaders attended the site visit.

Mangaluru: Praveen Chandra Alva, the opposition leader in the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) council, has strongly criticized the BJP-led administration for its inability to address key civic issues over the past four years. 

Alva highlighted several unaddressed concerns, including increased property taxes, discrepancies in water bills, delayed Smart City projects, unfinished market complexes, and stalled development initiatives like the Jalasiri 24x7 drinking water scheme and housing projects.

Speaking to reporters, Alva condemned Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur's leadership, describing his contributions as negligible. Alva further accused the BJP of orchestrating disruptions during the recent council meeting to divert attention from their administrative shortcomings.

"The mayor exhibited a dictatorial attitude by preventing the opposition from speaking during the council meeting. He broke tradition by delivering a speech on his supposed achievements instead of allowing the opposition to use their designated time during zero hour," Alva stated.

He also criticized the mayor for not following the customary practice of inviting opposition leaders and senior corporators to his chamber after the council meeting adjourned.

Alva emphasized the lack of progress on various civic projects under Mayor Shetty’s tenure, pointing out persistent issues such as overflowing underground drains, increased property taxes, and inconsistent water billing. "During the Congress administration, there was no increase in property taxes or water cess. In contrast, the BJP has imposed a heavier financial burden on the people. Despite nearly 5,000 pending applications, not a single house has been allocated to the poor in the past four years," Alva claimed.

When asked about Congress-nominated corporator Kishor Shetty, who was recently booked for throwing stones during a protest against Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, Alva condemned the act but noted that the police filed an FIR against Shetty even under a Congress-led state government.

Corporator AC Vinayaraj added that Kishor Shetty is an accused in the case and will face consequences if proven guilty, suggesting that the BJP is highlighting this issue to deflect from their own failures. Senior corporator Shashidhar Hegde echoed these sentiments, reminding the public that there was no hike in property taxes or water bills during the Congress tenure in the MCC.

A high-ranking official with the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says the six Israeli captives found dead in a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip were killed in Israeli airstrikes against the besieged coastal territory.

“The ones who kill our people daily are the Israeli colonizers with American weapons. The captives found in Gaza were not killed by us but by the relentless Zionist bombardment,” Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, said in a statement on Sunday.

He further criticized the United States, saying, “If President [Joe] Biden truly cares about the lives of Israeli hostages, he should cease his support for this enemy with money and weapons and pressure Israel to end its aggression immediately.”

Rishq emphasized that Hamas had been more concerned about the lives of the hostages than Biden himself, citing Hamas’s agreement to a ceasefire proposal and the UN Security Council’s resolution, both of which were rejected by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Earlier on Sunday, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesperson, alleged that Hamas murdered the six captives, whose bodies were found inside a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The Israeli army identified them as 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; Alexander Lobanov, 33; and Carmel Gat, 40.

Hamas has offered to release Israeli captives in return for an end to the genocidal war on Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu has taken a tough line in Gaza ceasefire negotiations, and repeatedly said that military pressure is needed to bring home the captives.

According to Israeli media, he has feuded with the regime’s high-profile officials who have said a deal should be struck urgently.

Hamas has said that dozens of captives were killed by Israeli airstrikes targeting Gaza.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 last year after Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory operation into the occupied territories.

So far, the regime has killed at least 40,691 Gazans, most of them women, children, and adolescents. Another 94,060 Palestinians have sustained injuries as well.