Conspiracy to malign Kateel, says Matandoor

Bharatiya Janata Party district unit President and Puttur MLA Sanjeev Matandoor said an organised conspiracy is being hatched by a few miscreants to malign the image of MP Nalin Kumar Kateel through fake social media accounts.

Speaking to media persons on Monday, he said in the last four-and-a-half years, Nalin Kumar Kateel had ensured the release of Rs 15,125 crore to take up development works in Dakshina Kannada. Unable to digest his popularity, some people are engaged in maligning his image in social media. The BJP is mulling over initiating legal action against them, he said.

Matandoor said the Congress leaders in Dakshina Kannada district are levelling allegations against the BJP and MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, for political gain.

“Former MLA J R Lobo had levelled allegations against Kateel for the inordinate delay in the completion of flyovers at Pumpwell and Thokkottu and also the work on four-laning of National Highway 66 from Nanthoor to Talapady. But the Mangaluru City Corporation and the district administration have delayed the work repeatedly by changing the design of the flyover at Pumpwell. Though the tenders for the flyover construction were invited in 2010, the work started in 2013. The Congress-led state government could have accelerated the work by impressing upon the contractor Navayug company, he said.

He termed the coalition government in Karnataka as a “daily wage government” without any commitment. The 80-day old government is not stable, he charged.

Thanks to the efforts of the MP, the Central government has sanctioned 15 tinkering labs to the district with Rs 20 lakh each to develop scientific temperament among the schoolchildren, he added.

Matandoor said as an MP, Kateel has proposed Mangaluru-Bengaluru high-speed expressway under Bharath Mala Project at an estimated cost of Rs 1.18 lakh crore. The proposal is in the tender stage, he added.

He said Kateel has proposed a road from Old Port-Bengre-Tannirbavi-NMP to connect national highway at a cost of Rs 1,300 crore. The proposal on developing 10-lane Kuloor-Baikampady Road, plastic park at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore and coconut park at a cost of Rs 500 crore has also been submitted. With the efforts of the MP, Mulki-Kateel-Polali-B C Road and Melkar-Mudipu-Konaje-Thokkottu have been upgraded as the national highway which will be developed at a cost of Rs 3,185 crore. Similarly, Bantwal-Siddakatte-Moodbidri Road also has been upgraded as a national highway, he explained.