Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Feb 21: Union finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, will be visiting the town on March 12, to participate in the Founders Day celebrations of Corporation Bank, and an interaction with Udupi District Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
As a prelude to the said visit, a meeting was organized by the chamber of commerce with several organizations on Saturday. The details of what transpired at this meeting, was given by the chamber president, Prasadraj Kanchan, at a press conference held here later.
At the programme, various aspects that are supplemental to the growth of the district will be brought to the notice of the minister. In this connection, a direct interaction of the minister with the entrepreneurs of the district is being organized during his visit, he revealed.
Various officials representing organizations and institutions, office bearers of the chamber, and members, participated in the meeting and came up with suggestions for the proposed programme. “One of the demands is to develop an alternative road to national highway 17 in the east within a distance of 15 kms from the highway, for easing the increasing pressure on the national highway. Because of the fast-faced development of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts, port, air port and economic zones, the traffic on the national highway has become very dense,” he explained.
The other suggestion is to lay a direct four-lane road from the town to Mangalore airport. If a road comes up as suggested above, it becomes easier to reach the airport in a short time. Development of Malpe and Kaup as tourist spots by developing the roads to the seashore, building of a hanging bridge between two beaches in Kaup, musical fountain and Leisure Park at Malpe, are some of the other suggestions. The meeting wants these facilities to be entrusted to private entrepreneurs on build and manage basis, he added. He said that at the discussions held recently in New Delhi about starting a new train service between Karwar and Bangalore via Mangalore, minister of state for railways, Muniyappa, and Rajya Sabha member, Oscar Fernandes, had assured president of the chamber, Prasadraj Kanchan, that this train will be announced in the current budget.
Chamber vice-president, K Tulasidas Shenoy, secretary, Sudhir Bhat, and treasurer, K Sooryaprakash, were present.