Holi sparks riot of colours in city

March 8, 2012

Mangalore, March 8: It was a riot of colours on Thursday, when city's North Indian community celebrated Holi with splashing colours at each other, singing and dancing.

In city, the main celebrations were observed at car street by Rajsthani Samaj and at Srinivas College by students. The temple square at Car Street was adorned with rainbow colours.

Bonfires are lit on the eve of the festival, also known as Holika Dahan. The festival started with puja (religious prayer), which was followed by the colour throwing. The participants painted each other with different colours and distributed parsad (sweets) among the celebrators.

One of Holi's biggest customs is the loosening strictness of social structures, which normally include age, sex, status, and caste. The women too participated with a gusto and visited homes in groups to extend festival greetings.

Holi closes the wide gaps between social classes and brings Hindus together. No discrimination among the rich or poor, women and men, old and young is observed, and everyone enjoys each other's presence on the joyous day.

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Mangaluru–Kasaragod bus fare rolled back after Kerala protests force NHAI to shut Arikkady toll plaza

coastaldigest.com news network

February 5,2026

Mangaluru: The KSRTC Mangaluru division has rolled back the fare hike on buses operating on the Mangaluru–Kasaragod route following the suspension of toll collection at the Arikkady toll plaza near Kumbala in Kasaragod district.

The fare revision had been implemented after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) began toll collection at the Arikkady plaza on NH-66. As a result, fares for ordinary and Rajahamsa services were increased by ₹7 and ₹10, respectively, raising the bus fare from Mangaluru to Kasaragod from ₹81 to ₹88.

Senior Divisional Controller of KSRTC’s Mangaluru division, Rajesh Shetty, said the fares were reduced after toll collection at the Arikkady plaza was stopped. “The tollgate began operations on January 13, and the toll amount was deducted from the FASTag accounts of KSRTC buses operating on the route. Following an order from the central government to suspend toll collection, KSRTC has also withdrawn the additional fare with immediate effect,” he said.

At present, vehicles travelling on the Mangaluru–Kasaragod route pay toll only at the Talapady toll plaza. The toll for light motor vehicles (LMVs) at Talapady is ₹80 for a same-day return, while heavy vehicles, including buses, are charged ₹250. At Arikkady, the toll rates were ₹130 for LMVs (same-day return) and ₹450 for buses.

Protests against Arikkady toll plaza

The Arikkady toll plaza witnessed widespread protests from January 12, the day toll collection commenced. On the second day, an action committee led by Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf launched an indefinite protest at the site. Except for the BJP, leaders and workers of most major political parties participated in the agitation.

On the night of January 14, a large number of protesters gathered at the plaza and vandalised property, following which authorities temporarily suspended toll operations. The BJP later also expressed opposition to the toll plaza and criticised NHAI’s decision.

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