Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (ANK)
Mangaluru, Jan 17: City south MLA Vedavyas Kamath said, “Rs 4750 crore funds have been brought until now for development work in Mangaluru in my tenure with the support of central and state government.”
Addressing media at ‘Meet the Press’ event here on Tuesday January 17, Kamath said, “In the last four-and-a-half years of my tenure, I have worked sincerely and relentlessly for the transformation of Mangaluru. I have faced certain challenges. So far Rs 4,750 crore funds have been brought for Mangaluru’s development with the help of central and state government. But due to certain challenges, the projects worth Rs 4,750 crore have not been implemented. We were severely affected due to monsoon for three years and the pandemic for two years, due to which some projects could not be implemented. By March this year, 75% of the development works will be completed. In Mangaluru city, we cannot complete the entire road works at a time. We should take up road works in phases.
“Rs 795 crore has been sanctioned for pipeline work under Jala Siri project in which 20-25 water tanks will also be built. Excavation of concrete roads is inevitable which only a few years old as the pipeline underneath the road is very old and needs to be changed keeping the 2,050-2,055 population in mind.
“The Smart City works worth Rs 1,000 crore have been taken up which is limited to 8 wards such as Bunder, Court ward, car street, and Port ward. We have taken up works like international swimming pool, Urwa sports complex, Mangala Stadium upgradation, river front project, hanging bridge in Sultan Battery, Kudru development, and Pumpwell-Padil road works. Apart from it, under PPP model, we have taken up projects like market in Kadri, Kankanady and central market worth Rs 145 crore, multi-level car parking, and commercial jetty. As an MLA, I have utilized the funds from the health, forest, agriculture and the Muzrai departments for certain projects in the city. In my constituency, 60 parks development and upgradation in is progress, 15-20 roundabouts will be developed which include Mahaveera circle at Pumpwell, and Koti Chennaya circle at Nandigudde. Hence, the target of completing all the works will be March 2025. The self-assessment system will be introduced in the Mangaluru City Corporation where even water bills will be paid through online in the coming days,” he said.
When asked about Urwa market, Kamath said, “We are convincing the shopkeepers shift to Urwa market. While the women selling fish have agreed, are few shopkeepers are yet to be convinced shift.”
On the housing project at Shaktinagar, Kamath said, “There were several hurdles regarding the project. Recently, an order was passed where construction of houses was allowed in the deemed forest area. Most probably in the month of February, the foundation stone will be laid for the project.”
On the government providing compensation to cooker bomb blast victim auto rickshaw driver, Kamath said, “As assured earlier, the government will provide the compensation to Purushottam Poojary. It is our duty to do so.”