Girl from Kodagu hoists Indian flag atop Mount Elbrus of Russia
Alumni of St. Agnes of Mangaluru scaled the peak
Madikeri, November 13: A girl from Kodagu became the cynosure of all eyes after she created a history by hoisting the tricolour atop Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Russia.
Bhavani, daughter of Tekkada Nanjundaswamy and Parvati of Perur village near Napoklu, scaled 5,642 meters height mountain. She has represented India along with three other climbers of Mexico, France and Romania. All the four were given training for three days in Russia.
Elbrus is the highest peak in Russia and among European countries, this is the 10th highest peak. But Bhavani has climbed the snowy mountain in eight hours and hoisted the flag. She was also known as the fastest climber. Bhavani climbed the peak first among four climbers. Interestingly, she climbed the mountain as a girl leaving three men behind.
She began her expedition bon October 18th midnight amidst chilling cold and continued her journey stepping on the ice and reached the summit on October 19 at 9.30 am.
Right from the beginning, she has passion for mountaineering. She has the ambition of climbing the Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world. But it is not so easy. It requires preparation, training and financial assistance. If the government and organisations helped her in achieving her dream, she will climb the Everest, she said.
Already, she has climbed the mountain at Darjiling in North India.
Bhavani has completed her primary school at Srimangala JC School. Later, she has continued her study at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya of Galibeedu and completed her graduation at At. Agnes of Mangaluru. Now, she is working as a teacher at Himalayan Mountaineering Institute of Darjeeling.
She has more interest towards defence and adventure. She has joined NCC in high school level and continued it even in college. She had also participated in Republic Day parade held in New Delhi in 2016.
She has also participated in All India Air Force Sainik camp held at Jodhpur and appreciated by the chief minister Siddaramaiah, NCC director general Lt.Gen. Aniruddh Chakravarthy, Karnataka Goa NCC deputy director general air commander C Rajiv. Bhavani has got the primary training in mountaineering from Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering Allied Sports of Manali. Higher level training was taken from Himalayan Mountaineering Institute of Darjeeling.
Himalayan Mountaineering Institute has already conducted various tough mountaineering activities successfully. Among them, she is the only girl who completed the mountaineering activities efficiently. She has already climbed the ice mountains like Rudugaira of Uttarakhand, Friendship of Manali, Renic and Stok Kangri in Leh. She has expertise in horse riding, swimming and various other trainings in defense sector.
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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.
