Protests in Shirali against National Highway widening; Local BJP MLA extends support
Bhatkal: Hundreds of locals on Friday morning gathered and staged dharna on the National Highway 66 of Shirali in Bhatkal Taluka against the NH widening work that began yesterday.
On Thursday, when the IRB officials began the NH widening work after it was halted for few weeks owing to protests by the locals, the locals along with Shirali Gram Panchayath officials once again started protesting the widening of NH only to 30m, against 45 meters which was initially decided.
But under the protection of local police, the IRB officials began the work as per the orders from the Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Kannada District SS Nakul.
The protesters then had turned to Bhatkal-Honnavar MLA Sunil Naik, who despite being in Bengaluru for budget session, tried to intervene and stop the work by making calls to Bhatkal Assistant Commissioner Sajid Ahmed Mulla, who refused to stop the work, citing orders from DC.
Followed by which, the locals had announced Dharna and protests on Friday, to which BJP MLA Sunil Naik had also extended support but had excused himself from being present at the protest as he was in Bengaluru for assembly session.
On Friday morning, security was beefed up in Shirali, under the supervision of Bhatkal DySP Valentine D’Souza and CPI Ganesh KL.
Amidst protests and Dharna, the IRB officials continued their work.
Bhatkal CPI Ganesh KL, while speaking to Vartha Bharti, said “The road work is going on smoothly, meanwhile the dharna of locals is also going on, they have said they will continue the dharna until their demands are met, daily till 6.pm in the evening. We have adequate security in place, and we believe their will no untoward incident during the whole issue”.
Why protests?
The locals of Shirali and Gram Panchayath officials have long stood against the widening of NH in Shirali to 30mtrs while it was initially proposed to be widened to 45mtrs.
The locals alleges that a few businessmen, whose properties would have been demolished for the widening of the work, used their political powers and influence to restrict the widening to 30mtrs, whereas the poor people in the outskirts of the city had already lost their properties as in the outskirts of the city the widening will be 45mtrs, even when widening of 45mtrs is mainly required inside the town limits as the town has a very much potential of developing in years to come.
MLA Sunil Naik was also quoted by local media Bhatkallys.com as saying “There is a need of widening the NH to 45 meters as Shirali in future days has great potential to get developed. Though for the past 6-7 months I have contacted the district in-charge minister, District Administration and all the concerned departments, it did not yield any results. So, I extend my support to the protest on widening of the road”.
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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.
