Widows throng at Mangalore Dasara; return home with saree, kumkum, jasmine!

October 3, 2011

Mangalore, September 3: It was a historic day for Shri Gokarnatheshwara Temple in Kudroli, the showpiece of on-going Mangalore Dasara. Hundreds of widows, who are considered to be a curse in traditional Hindu society, on Monday, thronged the holy place to get a warm reception from temple authorities.

As a new addition to the second most popular Dasara of Karnataka, around 1,900 widows were presented with special gifts by the temple authorities. Each widow received a saree worth Rs 300, a small kumkum box, bangles, and jasmine flower - materials normally not part of her repertoire as per ancient religious traditions.

Padmaraj, Treasurer, of the Temple told 'coastaldigest.com' that sarees and flowers were distributed as 'prasadam' to widows present at the rituals held in the morning.

Although the Temple had planned to distribute 1500 sarees this year, more than 1900 widows took benefit of the special 'prasadam', he said adding that there were a large number of widows who could not get the sarees due to the shortage.

“The names of the ones who did not get this 'prasadam' were noted and coupons were issued and they can collect the same on October 12 from the Temple premises,” he informed.

Explaining about what made the Temple authorities to think of distributing sarees and kumkum to widows, he said: “It was noticed previously that widows never used to join hands to pull the silver chariot, as they are always considered untouchables in the society. This made us resolve to change the system of ill-treating widows, and with God's grace for the first time in the entire country, we could do this successfully”

Anandi and Leelavathi, the two elderly widows from a remote village in Dakshina Kannada, who were in queue of widows to register their name for saree distribution, expressed contentment over the Temple's gesture. “We feel good to visit the Temple and participate in puja” she added.

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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News Network
November 26,2025

Mangaluru, Nov 26: Assembly Speaker and local MLA U.T. Khader has initiated a high-level push to resolve one of Mangaluru’s longest-standing traffic headaches: the narrow, high-density stretch of National Highway-66 between Nanthoor and Talapady.

He announced on Tuesday that a formal proposal has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) seeking approval to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the widening of this crucial corridor.

The plan specifically aims to expand the existing 45-meter road width to a full 60 meters, coupled with the construction of dedicated service roads. Khader highlighted that land for a 60-meter highway was originally acquired during the initial four-laning project, but only 45 meters were developed, leading to a perpetual bottleneck.

"With vehicle density rising sharply, the expansion has become unavoidable," Khader stated, stressing that the upgrade is essential for ensuring smoother traffic flow and improving safety at the city's main entry and exit points.

The stretch between Nanthoor and Talapady is a vital link on the busy Kochi-Panvel coastal highway and connects to major city junctions. The move to utilize the previously acquired land for the full 60-meter width is seen as a necessary measure to catch up with the region's rapid vehicular growth and prevent further traffic gridlocks.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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