Gauri Lankesh murder: SIT arrests two Hindutva activists from Udupi

Mangaluru: The passenger vessel service between Lakshadweep and Mangaluru has recommenced operations with the arrival of Parali, a high-speed craft, at the Old Mangaluru Port on Thursday, May 2 

With 160 passengers on board, along with a pilot, a ship engineer, an assistant, and eight labourers, the arrival of the vessel brings hopes of reinstating this vital transportation link.

The passengers were welcomed by Congress brass. The vessels that used to arrive before the Covid-19 pandemic took 13 hours to reach Mangaluru from Lakshadweep. However, the introduction of the high-speed craft, Parali, has reduced the travel time to approximately seven hours, said Abubakar Ashraf Bengre.

Bengre is part of a team that has been instrumental in liaising with the authorities of both Lakshadweep and Karnataka to facilitate the revival of this service. He told reporters that the service would bring better economic activity to Mangaluru. 

Over recent months, discussions have been held with Hamdullah Sayeed, president, Lakshadweep Congress Committee, as well as Karnataka Speaker UT Khader and district minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, to garner support for the reintroduction of the service.

The passengers who arrived mostly sought medical treatment, went shopping or met relatives here. They said that they traveled for Rs 450. Former MLA J R Lobo said that they will urge the government to ensure regular vessel services continue.

The passenger service was discontinued due to a lack of demand, it is learnt. In the year 2018-19, 4,955 passengers embarked and 7,422 disembarked from the Old Mangaluru Port. Subsequently, the figures declined to 3,779 (embarked) and 2,294 (disembarked) in 2019-20. The numbers further plummeted to 561 (embarked) and 19 (disembarked) in 2020-21, leading to the suspension of the service.

At present, the administration of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep has released a schedule for high-speed craft movement from April 29 to May 5.

Mangaluru, May 14: The Met department has sounded a yellow alert in 13 districts of Karnataka including the three coastal districts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada for next four days. 

The other districts are Belagavi, Dharwad, Haveri, Chikkamagalur, Chitradurga, Hassan, Kodagu, Mandya, Ramanagara, Shivamogga. These districts are expected to received 6-11 cm of rain, the department said.

On Monday Dakshina Kannada and Udupi experienced a monsoon-like atmosphere. Rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, began in most parts on Sunday evening. In Udupi, rain showered in the early hours of Monday. While Kundapur and Udupi received moderate rains, Karkala experienced a heavy downpour.

The showers lowered the daytime temperature in both districts. Light rain fell in Mangaluru and its outskirts early Monday morning. Mangaluru city recorded a maximum temperature of 33.4°C and a minimum of 23.2°C on Monday. This is expected to decrease by two to four degrees in the next four days, according to the weather department. 

Karwar, May 5: What commenced as a mere exchange of words between spouses swiftly transmuted into a calamitous ordeal, resulting in the heartbreaking loss of their innocent offspring. The heart-wrenching incident unfolded in the serene confines of Halamaddy village in the picturesque expanse of Dandeli, nestled within the idyllic expanse of Uttara Kannada district.

In the throes of a fervent dispute with her spouse, the aggrieved wife, succumbing to an overwhelming surge of emotions, callously propelled their tender six-year-old progeny into the somber depths of a nearby canal, thereafter alerting the local populace to her grievous act.

Promptly apprised of the distressing occurrence by concerned bystanders, the authorities were swiftly summoned to the scene to confront the harrowing aftermath.

Responding to the distress call, the diligent officers of Dandeli rural police swiftly converged upon the site where the innocent child had been cast into the unforgiving waters of the canal, subsequently effecting the retrieval of the child's lifeless form. 

Regrettably, it was discerned that a portion of the child's remains had been tragically claimed by the lurking jaws of a predatory crocodile.