CM Bommai inaugurates Parashuram theme park in Karkala
Mangaluru (PTI): The Parashuram theme park, with a 33 feet bronze statue of Lord Parashuram, was inaugurated atop Umikal hill at Bailur in Karnataka's Udupi district by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Speaking after the inauguration on Friday evening in Karkala taluk, the Chief Minister said a master plan will be drawn to promote culture and temple tourism in coastal Karnataka.
Bommai said the coastal region has immense potential for attracting tourists and the government is chalking out a number of schemes to promote tourism.
The government aims to bring in overall development in the region by developing ports and roads. The government does not want to offer promises on packages, but is trying to improve the lives of the people, he said.
Bommai added that the inauguration of the park is historic as Lord Parashuram is said to be the creator of Tulunadu. He was brave and strong and received the blessings of Lord Shiva, the Chief Minister said.
State Minister for Kannada and Culture V Sunil Kumar, who represents Karkala in the assembly, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shobha Karandlaje who represents Udupi-Chikkamagaluru in the Lok Sabha, Fisheries Minister S Angara, MLAs Lalji Mendon and Raghupati Bhat and noted actor Rishabh Shetty were present on the occasion.
The Parashuram statue installed atop Umikal hill in Bailur, located by the side of National Highway between Udupi and Karkala, is already attracting thousands of tourists from various parts of the country.
The theme park has a bhajan mandir, museum, open air amphitheatre, drawings depicting life of Lord Parashuram, audio-visual gallery and a restaurant. The park was set up by the Nirmiti Kendra in Udupi district.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
