Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Aug 30: Deputy Commissioner Darshan HV said 68% of the Mangaluru waterfront project has been completed.

He was speaking at the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting chaired by Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta. The project had faced delays as port land had been leased for 30 years. Darshan said encroachments on the land need to be cleared at the earliest.

Officials said around 80% of the road connecting Sultan Bathery and Tannirbhavi had been completed and the road is expected to be ready by December.

Works at the Plastic Park are expected to be completed by the end of September. Road works and asphalting are under way, while street lighting, drainage and treatment plant works have been completed.

Flooring, painting and installation of windows at the administrative building of the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology are pending. Additional workers will be deployed to expedite the work.

Chowta said he would inspect the park with the DC in the first week of October. If all works are completed, the park would be inaugurated by the end of October.

DIC Joint Director Gokuldas Nayak said 48 developed sites were ready for allotment. A screening committee is expected to meet in September to consider the allotments. So far, 16 applications have been received.

Zilla Panchayat CEO Narwade Vinayak Karbhari said 968 works had been taken up under MGNREGS. Under the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), 18,000 works are planned, including 9,000 in horticulture. The target is to generate 15 lakh person-days, but progress has been affected by technical issues.

Chowta directed officials to prepare an action plan to construct houses for eligible Koraga families. ITDP Officer Basavaraju said 1,135 families had been mapped under PM-JANMAN. Applications of 165 beneficiaries had been processed, while 124 were awaiting approval.

Chowta said a BC Road-Surathkal bypass was being planned and that the DPR was in the final stage. Railway officials were also asked to study the feasibility of a station near Mangaluru International Airport.

Moodubidire MLA Umanath Kotian raised the issue of waterlogging in the airport area. PWD officials said they had prepared a Rs 23-crore proposal to upgrade a rajakaluve from the runway to the PWD road. An estimate is pending for the section within Bajpe Town Panchayat limits.