Mangalore-origin archbishop Ambrose Madtha dies in Ivory Coast accident

[email protected] (Agencies )
December 9, 2012

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Ivory Coast, December 9: The papal envoy to Ivory Coast, Indian Archbishop Ambrose Madtha, has been killed in a road accident in the west of the country, the Ivorian church announced.

 

Madtha was travelling back from the north-western town of Odienne to an ordination ceremony in the country's west on Saturday evening when his car collided with another vehicle.

 

“Unfortunately the apostolic nuncio died on the spot,” said Mathieu Tehan, spokesman for the western diocese of Man where the ceremony was to take place.

 

President Alassane Ouattara, in a statement read on national television, expressed his “deep regret” at the death and sent condolences to the church and Madtha's family.

 

Madtha was born in Belthangady near Mangalore, India in 1955 to the late Joseph Madtha and May Madtha. He was the brother of Fr Henry Madtha and Rev Srs Theresa Madtha SCB and Bridget Madtha FMM.

 

He was an MA in Economics from Nagpur University and did his B Ed from Lucknow University. He studied Philosophy and Theology at St Charles Seminary Nagpur and obtained doctorate in canon law from Urban Univeristy in Rome.

 

He was ordained a priest in 1982.

 

Ambrose Madtha entered diplomatic service in June 1990 and had served apostolic nunciatures in Ghana, El Salvador, Georgia, Albania and Republic of China (Taiwan).

 

He became the doyen of the Ivorian diplomatic corps after arriving in 2008.

 

He tried to play a behind-the-scenes mediating role during Ivory Coast's 2010-11 political crisis when the previous ruler, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to step down even though Ouattara was declared winner of presidential elections.

 

The Catholic church was put in a delicate position since some of the country's bishops favoured Gbagbo, who comes from the country's majority Christian south. Ouattara is from the largely Muslim north.

 

Last month Ouattara, accompanied by his Christian wife, met Pope Benedict XVI in Rome. Ivory Coast and the Vatican agreed on “the role that the Catholic Church can offer for the good of the country, by encouraging and promoting human rights, dialogue and national reconciliation”, the Vatican said in a statement at the time.

 

Gbagbo is now awaiting trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

 

Around 40 percent of Ivory Coast's population is Muslim and 40 percent Christian. Some 20 percent are believers in native religions.

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News Network
March 14,2024

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Udupi: In a freak mishap, a 65-year-old man lost his life after being hit by his own bus which was being repaired at a garage at Athrady in Udupi district on Wednesday, March 13.

The deceased has been identified as Dayanand Shetty, the owner of a private bus.

It is learnt that the bus had been kept for repairs at the garage and Dayanand had gone there to inspect the repair works.

At this time, the mechanic started the engine and the bus moved ahead. Dayanand, who was standing in front of the bus, came under its wheels.

He was immediately rushed to a hospital where he died without responding to the treatment. A case is registered at jurisdictional Manipal police station.

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News Network
March 18,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 18: The rising temperature has become a growing concern for residents of coastal district of Dakshina Kannada, as the issue of drinking water shortage continues to worsen in several parts. 

Though the water supply of Mangaluru city has not been affected much, nearby urban local bodies, including Ullal, Kotekar, Bajpe and other parts on the outskirts of Mangaluru have been facing an acute shortage of drinking water.

Though the water level in the Thumbe vented dam across Nethravati River has started going down in the last few days, officials have ruled out possibility of rationing the water supply in the city.

According to officials, the water level at Thumbe dam of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) stood at 5.8 m as against the maximum storage capacity of 6m height on March 16. The water level at the dam during the same period last year was 5.3 metres. The water level reduced from 5.9 m on March 15 to 5.8 m on March 16 due to the scorching heat, causing evaporation.

The MCC has been drawing 160 MLD of water from the Thumbe vented dam. According to officials, without inflow, the maximum water stored in the dam will be sufficient for only 50 days. Meanwhile, the MCC has already started pumping backwater from downstream of the Thumbe vented dam back to the dam using pumpsets. Water from Thumbe dam can be drawn only if it has more than 1.5m of water in it.

DC Mullai Muhilan MP said that the district administration is closely monitoring water levels in all the dams that supply water.

The AMR dam located upstream of Thumbe dam has 18 m of water from sea level. If the water level in the Thumbe vented dam recedes, then water from the AMR dam will be released into the Thumbe dam. There is water in a dam at Biliyoor, which is located upstream of the AMR dam, the DC said.

“Drawing water for irrigation purposes from Thumbe and AMR dams has been banned,” the deputy commissioner said, adding that an order in this regard has already been issued. Some of the pockets in rural areas too have started facing water crisis.

“We have made arrangements to supply water through tankers in Ullal, Kotekar and Bajpe areas. We will not introduce water supply rationing in MCC limits for the time being,” he said and appealed to citizens to use water judiciously.

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News Network
March 21,2024

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Mangaluru: A man from Dakshina Kannada was duped of Rs 2.5 lakh after he was promised a Poland visa.

In a complaint, a resident of Belthangady, stated that the accused, Manoj, had promised a job for his son in Poland. 

Between May 22 of last year and March 19, he handed over Rs 2.2 lakh in various phases, citing different reasons.

However, since the accused failed to provide a visa or return the money, a case was registered at the Dharmasthala police station under IPC sections 417 and 420.

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