Whose 125 feet statue is coming up in mandya?
State government is mulling rs. 1,200cr project
Bengaluru, Nov 15: The Karnataka government is mulling a proposal to upgrade the Brindavan gardens adjoining the Krishnarajasagara dam, on the lines of Disney land that includes installation of a mammoth watchtower statue of "Mother Cauvery."
Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar along with Tourism Minister Sa Ra Mahesh has held a meeting with officials from the water resources and the tourism departments on Wednesday regarding this, officials said.
"Statue is just a part of it... government in the budget for tourism purpose has provisioned for up-gradation of Brindavan Gardens that has musical fountain.
We want to upgrade it on the lines of Disneyland," Shivakumar told reporters here on Thursday.
He said concepts had come from architects depicting Karnataka's rich cultural heritage and architecture.
"The concept includes a tall towering statue like of Mother Cauvery that includes a lift from where visitors can view the dam and surrounding areas from the gallery.
We have seen the concept and have given certain suggestions," he saidadding that a global tender would be called for investing into the project.
The Minister also clarified that, it is just a concept and the proposal in this regard is yet to come before the cabinet.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in his first ever budget presented on July 5, had proposed to bring back the grandeur of Brindavan Gardens and Krishnarajasagar dam by developing it on the model of America's Disneyland with public private participation.
Global industrialists are eager to invest in the project, Kumaraswamy, who also holds Finance portfolio, had said in his budget speech, while providing Rs 5 crore to prepare the detailed project report.
Noting that about 300 acre land was available for the purpose, the Minister not wanting to divulge much said, "we are working out for more land if required."
"There is sufficient land. We want to do this without affecting the public," he said.
Asked about the project cost, Shivakumar said, private partners would invest and the government would only invest in the initial stage.
"I don't want to detail much on how the project will be now itself," he said not wishing to share details on the height of the proposed statue.
To a query on Congress' opposition to 'Statue of Unity' in Gujarat and proposed Ram statue in UP, Shivakumar said, the proposal was not just for statue, it is a theme park with an aim to promote tourism.
"Some architects have given a concept proposal for a watch tower that will have a shape (of mother Cauvery)," he said adding that there is also design for a street depicting the heritage and history of Karnataka which will have models of Hampi and Gol Gumbaz among others.
The Brindavan Gardens, primarily a terrace garden is laid out in about 60 acres immediately behind the Krishnaraja Sagar dam across the river Cauvery.
The Department of Horticulture in 1927 started the work of laying out this garden, then called the Krishnarajendra Terrace Garden, under the aegis of Sir Mirza Ismail, the then Dewan of the princely State of Mysore.
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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.
