Bhatkal... Shiva or Terrisom ???

Bangalore, Thu Jan 26,2015
Bhatkal has been quite a hustling tourist spot mainly because of the Murudeshwar temple, the world's second tallest Shiva statue, Basadis (Jain temples) and its beaches. Jog Falls are 100 km away from the town. The Bhatkal town is connected by National Highway 17 (NH-17) to Udupi and Mangalore from the south, and Honnavar, Kumta, and district headquartersmKarwar, from the north. There is a railway station at Bhatkal on the Konkan railway route. Nethravni gundi a nearby island is well known for biological and marine species. And also there are many Temples, Mosques, and Churches.
According to Famous Moroccan traveler's Ibn Battuta (1307-1377), "Bad-E-Qillah" (Bhatkal) was place Nawath Muslim & Jain town located near Arabian sea, there was Nawath ruler near Sharavathi river in Bhatkal's location, although very strategic, was the main factor behind the country's erratic history.
Chola emperors under Aditya-I, his son Parantaka-I and successor Sundara Chola also known as Parantaka Chola II initially invaded and conquered territories in the Kannada country between Gangavadi on the Mysore plateau and Bhatkal on the Sahyadri coast during 880-975 AD. As a sign of their victory in Kannada country, they built the Solesvara Temple in commemoration of their conquest. Inscriptions from successive kings from Parantaka Chola-I to Kulothunga Chola-III mention their generals as 'Lords of the Konkana' which included Bhatkal and of paying obeisance to Lord Solesvarar of Konkana.
As of 2011 India census, Bhatkal had a population of approximately 49,730. Males constitute 50% of the population and females constitute 50%. Bhatkal has an average literacy rate of 83%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 88% and female literacy of 78%. 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Channapattana Hanuman Temple:
The Channapattana Hanuman Temple is located in the centre of Bhatkal town, and takes out an annual procession of a chariot with the main deity. However, the procession takes place, only after obtaining the permission of a Muslim Shahbandari family. Sweetmeats are exchanged between the temple managemnet and the Shahbandari family during the procession. Legend has it, once the chariot broke down, and the local Hindus did not have the funds to repair it. At this time, the Muslim Shahbandari family helped by providing funds to repair the chariot. Since then started the tradition of taking the family's permission before the procession starts. A few years back, some youth raised voices against having to take permission from a Muslim family to conduct a Hindu procession, and that year no permission was taken. However, the chariot broke down just outside the Shahbandari family home. No one has questioned the tradition on obtaining permission from the Muslim family, since that incident.

Murudeshwar Temple and World's second highest Lord Shiva statue:

The prime attraction of this beach town is its Shiva temple. A famous landmark here is the world's second tallest Shiva statue. The statue, standing at a height of 123 feet, took almost 20 years for Shivamogg's Kashinath and several other sculptors to build. Murudeshwar is a picturesque place that can be visited during anytime of the year. It is bound by the Arabian Sea and the rolling hills of the Western Ghats. The Shiva temple is surrounded by sea on three sides and presents a beautiful picture at sunrise and sunset. Temple that has a 20-storey high Gopura guarded by two life-size concrete elephants at the steps leading inside the temple.
Murudeshwar is a small pilgrimage town on the coast of Karnataka, 160 km north of the Mangalore International Airport. "Murudeshwar" is another name of Lord Shiva. The Murudeshwar beach has two beautiful temples with majestic statues. This small and beautiful town is famous for the world's second-tallest Lord Shiva statue
Kailashnath Mahadev Statue is the world's tallest Shiva statue It is situated in Sanga, the border ofBhaktapur and Kavrepalanchwok districts in Nepal which is about 20 km from Kathmandu. The statue is 143 feet high and made using copper, zinc, concrete and steel. According to the List of statues by height, Kailashnath Mahadev is the World's Fortieth (40th) Tallest Statue, 4 Places below the Statue of Liberty.

Terrorism:
Bhatkal has recently become synonymous with terrorism. The Maqdoom Colony suburb which houses poverty stricken Muslim is the suburb from where terror suspects Riyaz Ahmed Sayeedi and Indian Mujahideen terrorist Yasin Bhatkal (alias Ahmed Siddibapa) hail from. In a recent terror raid on Jan20,2015 by Bangalore Police, 3 natives of Bhatkal were arrested fromCox Town, Bangalore for terrorist activities. At the same time in a raid on a Bhatkal residence, Police recovered 5 kg of ammonium nitrate, 3 kg gelatin gel, 10 electrical circuits, 3-4 timers and communication equipment.The three men had been receiving messages from senior IM handlers, Police Commissioner M N Reddi told media personnel.
A five-minute ride from the town bus stand through Bunder Road leads to Maqdoom Colony, housing poor Muslims, among whom was Riyaz Ahmed Sayeedi, detained recently for suspected connections with terror outfit, the Indian Mujahideen (IM). Ahmed Siddibapa, made famous by investigating agencies as Yasin Bhatkal, also lived in the same colony.

Bhatkal: from a quiet coastal town in Karnataka to a terror factory:
Bhatkal in Karnataka began losing grip over its identity as a town around the time Mohammed Ahmed Zarar Siddibapa started gaining notoriety as dreaded Indian Mujahideen terrorist Yasin Bhatkal.What did not help the town in coastal Uttara Kannada district was that other IM top guns, brothers Riyaz and Iqbal Shabantri, also became branded as Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal. For Raza Manvi, a writer in this small prosperous town located 488 km northwest of Bangalore, the blame for such branding of terror suspects as Bhatkals lies solely with the police and the media.
Surendra Shanbhag, a timber trader and prominent member of the Hindu society here, points to how 18 temples, most of them with long histories, have co-existed. "I am from this soil and see no problems in Bhatkal. I only read things in the newspapers." Walk away from the Maqdoom Colony and reach the busier Bhatkal main road, lined with shops , fashion has entered the marketplace, but signature brands are yet to find their way.

Bhatkal... Shiva or Terrisom ???
it is all in our hands by encouraging the tourism and not allowing the terrisom