K'taka govt gives nod to Anubhava Mantapa at a cost of Rs 532 crore in Basavakalyan
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Thursday approved the project for construction of Anubhava Mantapa at a cost of Rs 532 crore.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Basavakalyan Development Board chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
"The state government has given its approval for construction of Anubhava Mantapa, which has been taken up by Basavakalyan Development Board, at a cost of Rs 532 cr. The Chief Minister instructed for completion of the works within three years," the government said in an official release.
Anubhava Mantapa is a revolutionary forum formed by 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara. He had tried to eradicate social inequities and discriminations through Anubhava Mantapa.
The Anubhava Mantapa would be built in an apt form to reflect the social revolution brought about by Basaveshwara, the statement said adding, the Mantapa would have facilities to exhibit short films and pictures on the life and ideals of the social reformer and other visionary social thinkers of that era who propagated their thoughts through Vachana Sahitya' (poetic saying).
Basavakalyan is an important religious site in Bidar district of northern Karnataka bordering Maharashtra, for the dominant Lingayat community, to which Chief Minister Bommai and his predecessor B S Yediyurappa belong.
The move comes a year ahead of the assembly elections in Karnataka.
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Hamas accepts cease-fire proposal for Gaza, but Israel's stance still uncertain
Jerusalem, May 6: Hamas announced Monday it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but there was no immediate word from Israel, leaving it uncertain whether a deal had been sealed to bring a halt to the seven-month-long war in Gaza.
It was the first glimmer of hope that a deal might avert further bloodshed. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signalling that an attack was imminent. The United States and other key allies of Israel oppose an offensive on Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza's population, are sheltering.
An official familiar with Israeli thinking said Israeli officials were examining the proposal, but the plan approved by Hamas was not the framework Israel proposed.
An American official also said the US was still waiting to learn more about the Hamas position and whether it reflected an agreement to what had already been signed off on by Israel and international negotiators or something else. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as a stance was still being formulated.
Details of the proposal have not been released. Touring the region last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had pressed Hamas to take the deal, and Egyptian officials said it called for a cease-fire of multiple stages starting with a limited hostage release and some Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal, they said.
