Udupi: G Shankar Trust donates Rs 25 lakh to families of martyred soldiers
Udupi, Feb 18: The Ambalapadi G Shankar Trust has donated Rs 25 lakh to the families of martyred soldiers who were killed in Pulwama terror strike.
In a condolence programme organised by the District Mogaveera Youth Organisation, Ambalapadi G Shankar Family Trust, various schools and colleges, at Ambalapadi Shamily auditorium here on Monday, trust president G Shankar handed over the cheque for Rs 25 lakh to Additional Deputy Commissioner Vidya Kumari.
Speaking on the occasion, G Shankar said that the amount given by the trust need to be utilized properly. Instead of sending the donation to the Prime Minister’s or Chief Minister’s Relief Funds, it should reach the families of martyred soldiers directly and the district administration should take up that responsibility, he said.
“The condition of soldiers who have been ensuring peaceful nights to the people of the country was at stake. So, they should be instilled confidence and strength. Like politicians and VVIPs, soldiers should also be given zero traffic rules and the Defence Ministry should take responsibility”, he said.
ADC Vidya Kumari said that the district administration has the onus of making sure the donation reaches the families of martyred soldiers.
Mogaveera Youth organization district president Vinay Karkera, Mogaveera Mahajana Sangha president Jaya C Kotian, Udupi DySP Jaishankar, Ajjarakadu government women’s college principal Bhaskar Shetty, lecturer Prof Nithyananda N, student Sameena, Prakash Malpe of Samvedana Trust , soldiers Tharanath, Umesh Suvarna, Suresh Barakur, Balaraj Pithrodi spoke on the occasion.
Udupi Tahsildar Pradeep Kurdekar, Vijaya Bank deputy general manager Ravichandran, retired soldier Arun Kumar and others were present. Thousands of students, general public lit the candles and paid their respect to the departed souls.
“Compared to other districts, the number of people who joins army is low from the coastal districts due to lack of proper guidance, counseling and pressure on the youth. There is no background of people going to army. So, the district administration should make efforts in taking these numbers up”.
- Suresh Babu, Soldier
“I have been working in the army for the last 15 years. I have worked in both extreme cold and hot conditions. With the problems, this profession has a kind of thrill. Efforts should be made to encourage our youngsters to join army, and a child from every house should be in the army”.
- Tharanath, Soldier
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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.
