The Hindu

Mangalore, Sep 29: Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has asked the officials of Dakshnia Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts to be ready with development proposals before the global investors’ meet scheduled for December so that the projects could get the required financial assistance.

He was addressing presspersons after a meeting with the Karnataka Coastal Development Authority (KCDA) here on Sunday. The KCDA is headed by the former Minister B Nagaraja Shetty. The Chief Minister said he had asked the authority to conduct meetings once a month. The authorities had been asked to explore the possibility of commencing work on the monorail proposal.

On the need for a police commissionerate for Mangalore, Yeddyurappa said that a decision would taken soon.

Speaking at a public consultation meeting, the Chief Minister said that the condition of the roads in urban areas was “distressing” and added that Rs 50 crore would be spent on repairing roads in Mangalore. “We will allocate more funds if necessary,” he said.

He said that the work on the highway connecting the Bajpe Airport and the city and development of Old Port should be completed at the earliest.

Yeddyurappa suggested that the jail in Kodialbail could be shifted on the outskirts of the city and a bus stand with better infrastructure could come up there. The Government was willing to release funds for the acquisition of land for a ring road for Mangalore. An authority to protect the Western Ghats would soon be constituted, he said.

People who participated in the consultation meeting urged the Chief Minister to promote beach tourism by strengthening the breakwater in the estuary to prevent accidents, extending the jetty at the Old Port, constructing residential complexes for the poor who were migrating to the city, setting up a full-pledged passport office, and taking effective measures to prevent encroachment of lands and footpaths, constructing a Rangamandira and starting a national festival on the lines of Mysore Dasara.