MP, MLA turn blind eyes towards protest even after a week, misleading it: Allegation
Protest demanding closure of Suratkal tollgate
Committee invites MP for open discussion
Mangaluru, October 28: The overnight dharna by the Surathkal Tollgate Action Committee being conducted since October 22, demanding closure of the tollgate following the state government’s proposal to close it, entered one week.
The Committee has been protesting against collecting toll even after the state government’s decision to close it. The agitators demanded that the contract should not be renewed and the tollgate should be removed by October 30 and movement of vehicles should not be barred on old bridge till the new bridge is constructed.
Political parties like Congress, JDS, CPM, CPI and others and district Bus Owners Association and other 50 organisations extended their support to the agitation. Former minister Ramanath Rai, former MLAs Vijay Kumar Shetty, Moidin Bava, JR Lobo, INTUC state president Rakesh Malli and other leaders visited the spot where the agitators have been sitting in dharna and supported their cause. But till date, neither Lok Sabha Member Naleen Kumar Kateel nor MLA Dr Y Bharath Shetty visited the spot and enquired the agitators even after a week. Politicising the issue by Naleen Kumar has created another issue. The agitators are expressing their anger saying that the MP should not mislead the people in the issue and if he has real concerns, he should close the tollgate.
Toll Renovation
The construction of Surathkal toll gate itself is illegal. So, either it should be closed or removed. It should not be continued. If it is not closed by October 30, they would take legal action and the district administration will be held responsible for any untoward incidents, the agitators said.
Meanwhile, the National Authority officials who did not take the issue seriously have given the contract to a new company on October 24 and this has caused wrath among the agitators.
Warns of breaking law
The protest against Surathkal toll gate is not a new one. Local leaders have been fighting against the tollgate for the last one and half years. Even the Lok Sabha Member had said that he would close the tollgate. But now, the move of the MP at the time of closure of contract period has created suspicion. Considering this seriously, the local leaders formed a committee and started their agitation from August 14. Amidst this, the new company might collect the toll from October 30. Taking it as a challenge, the Committee members have decided to lay siege the tollgate and this might cause clash between the committee and the government.
MP is not keeping his words
The Committee members have made an allegation that the MP is not keeping up his words and now, they have decided to fight against the MP. The contract period of the toll collection would expire on October 30 and the MP had promised against renewing the contract at a National Highway Authority meeting. But the NHAI officials have been misleading the people. The MP, without controlling the officials, have been giving misleading statements and creating confusion, they said.
Letter to centre demanding closure of tollgate
Recently, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said that a letter was written to the central government to close the Surathkal and BC Road toll gates instead of merging them with Hejamadi tollgate. But due to some technical reasons, the process was delayed. Even then, the central government would take a decision shortly, he had said.
He had also said that there was politics in the protest being conducted demanding closure of the tollgate. The Surathkal toll was opened during UPA administration and Oscar Fernandes was the Minister then. But then, no one had spoken about it. Why should they speak now? It was a politics, he has reportedly said.
Committee warns Nalin Kumar Katil
Condemning the attitude and statement of the MP, Committee leaders said that nothing would happen without politics in a democratic system. Their protest was about public problem. But the MP has been supporting the tollgate mafia. It was not the question of politics in the protest. It was the question of politics about what, they said asking him about his politics favouring the renovation of the tollgate.
Is your statement that you would light the fire in the district not politics? Shall I disclose who is behind the renovation process? Who is responsible for renovating the tollgate when NHAI has decided to close it? Will you come for open discussion? Will you bring your close aid MLA Bharath Shetty? Are you ready to discuss the issue in the dharna place? Committee convener Muneer Katipalla asked these questions to Nalin Kumar Kateel who remained silent over the issue.
Tollgate to be laid siege: Muneer Katipalla
Their protest will continue till the tollgate will be closed. The state government has submitted a proposal to the central government to close the tollgate. Who is responsible for calling fresh tender for collecting toll and handover the contract to a new company? Is it Nitin Gadkari? Nalin Kumar said that he would go to Nitin Gadkari along with seven BJP MLAs and place their demand. But why did he keep quiet? The MP should clarify his stand over the issue. The Action Committee has already submitted its demands to the office of the MP. But the BJP MP has been saying that he does not know anything about it. Both Nalin Kumar and Bharath Shetty have gone on the same road on Sunday. But they have not met the agitators even for courtesy sake, he said.
He will discuss with MP and committee leaders-Minister UT Khader
He would discuss with MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, MLA Bharat Shetty, former MLAs Vinay Kumar Shetty and Moidin Bava, Committee leaders in the presence of the deputy commissioner and NHAI officials about the tollgate. He would take the assurance of the NHAI given in the last meeting into account. He would direct the officials to take a suitable decision. A letter would be written from the state government to the centre. Those who are favouring the tollgate should understand that there was no provision to collect toll fee in the city corporation limits. Along with the Dakshina Kannada MP, Udupi-Chikmagalur MP should also raise their voice against tollgate issue. Shobha Karandlaje should understand that the toll fee would be a burden to the people of Udupi. Now, he was in by-election campaigning. Shortly he would visit Mangaluru and conduct a meeting. On behalf of the district administration, Mangaluru AC Ravichandra Nayak has met the agitators and held discussion. He would also place the demands of the agitators before the Chief Minister, said District Minister UT Khader.
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
