Fire breaks out in Manipalla hill; burns trees, plants and bushes
Fire covers 15 acres of forest, villagers are fighting to douse it
Mangaluru, Jan 17: Fire broke out in Manipalla hills in Kuppepadavu gram panchayat limits near Bajpe on Thursday and it has spread to more than 15 acres of forest area. The villagers have been fighting it out to douse the fire.
“After 5 pm, heavy smoke emanated from the hill and later, it has converted into fire. Acacia, Menjamu and other species of shrubs and trees were gutted in the fire. Apart from the trees and plants, animals like snakes, rabbits, birds and other wild animals also died in the forest fire”, social worker Sulaiman told Varthabharati.
Villagers succeeded in dousing the fire on either side of the road near the hill. But they could not do anything to extinguish the fire atop the hill. However, the fire brigade has been trying to douse the fire.
Though the fire extinguishing work was taken up on war-footing, it has been spreading to other places. Manipalla village has 40-45 houses and a petrol station was also near to the hill, he said.
More than 150 youth of the village have been trying to douse the fire by bringing water. So far, no elected representatives visited the spot and take measures to douse the fire, he said.
“Manipalla hill has been getting fire for the last few years. But nobody knows who is behind this incident. Concerned authorities were already informed about it. Rescue operation is going on and villagers are asked to take care about the fire”
-DP Hammabba, Kuppepadavu Gram Panchayat Vice President
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Will not accept 'Veer Savarkar Award' nor attend the ceremony: Shashi Tharoor
Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi (PTI): Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday categorically stated that he would not accept an award named after VD Savarkar, nor attend a related event, even as a senior party colleague wanted the Congress MP to not accept any honour named after the ideologue whom he claimed "bowed before the British."
Tharoor said that he will not accept the "Veer Savarkar Award" and also won't attend the event where it will be presented in the absence of clarifications about its nature or the organisation presenting it.
Tharoor, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, also said that "it was irresponsible on the part of the organisers to announce my name without my having agreed to receive it".
Earlier in the day, Congress leader K Muraleedharan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that no party member, including Tharoor, should accept any award in the name of Veer Savarkar "as he had bowed before the British."
Muraleedharan said that he does not believe that Tharoor will accept the award as doing so would insult and embarrass the Congress party.
Tharoor later told reporters in the national capital that he heard about the award on Tuesday and that he was not going for the ceremony.
"I heard about it yesterday only. I am not going. I am not here," he said in response to a question on Wednesday on his participation in the award ceremony.
Subsequently, in a post on social media platform 'X', the Congress MP said, "In the absence of clarifications about the nature of the award, the organisation presenting it or any other contextual details, the question of my attending the event today or accepting the award does not arise."
He further said that he learned from media reports that he was named as a recipient of the award when he went to Kerala to vote in the local body polls on Tuesday.
He said he had clarified then that he was neither aware of, nor had accepted, such an award.
"Despite that, today in Delhi, some media outlets continue to ask the same question. Therefore, I am issuing this statement to clarify the matter unequivocally," Tharoor added.
Following Tharoor's statement, Aji Krishnan, the secretary of the Highrange Rural Development Society (HRDS) India which is presenting the award, told a TV channel that the Congress MP was informed about the matter well in advance.
He said that representatives of HRDS India and the chairman of the award jury had met Tharoor at his residence to invite him and the MP had asked for a list of the other recipients of the award.
"We gave him the list. He has not yet informed us that he will not come for the event. Perhaps he is scared as the Congress has made it an issue," Krishnan claimed.
Kerala Law Minister P Rajeev said it was Tharoor's decision whether to accept the award or not.
Tharoor was chosen as one of the recipients of the inaugural Veer Savarkar International Impact Award 2025, instituted by HRDS India, on Wednesday in New Delhi.
On Tuesday, he had said that he heard about the award through the media and that he was not aware who was giving it.
"I am not aware of anything related to the award. Let me find out what it is," he had said.
