Widening of road from Maravoor bridge to airport proposed

District In-charge Minister B Ramanath Rai said a proposal prepared at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore for widening the road from Maravoor Bridge to Mangalore International Airport has been submitted to the state government for approval.

He was speaking after unfurling the flag at the 70th Independence Day programme organised by the district administration at Nehru Maidan here on Monday.

He said, “A proposal at an estimated cost of Rs 96.57 crore has been submitted to the government for the extension of runway at the airport.”

Rai said 148 pure drinking water plants have been sanctioned to Dakshina Kannada district and the works on these plants are in progress. These units are intended to provide pure water at an affordable rate of 50 paisa per litre, he added.

A total of 34 villages in the district have been selected for Grama Vikasa Yojane and a sum of Rs 26.25 crore has been sanctioned for the development of these villages. Under Podi-free villages drive initiated by the government, 30,000 survey numbers have been measured in 51 villages in the district. The drive will help people in getting their RTCs set right, he added.

He said the government has given thrust on the health care of the citizens and a proposal has been prepared to construct a 176-bed new block at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore at Wenlock Hospital.

Rai stressed on increasing the green cover and maintaining cleanliness. He said the government has implemented ‘Hasiru Grama Yojane’ and ‘Hasiru Shaala Yojane’ to increase the green cover. Apart from this, 2.41 lakh saplings have been planted in Dakshina Kannada district under Koti Vruksha Andolana of the government, he noted.

Rai said the government is committed for social justice and has implemented scores of social welfare schemes. He called upon citizens to come out of narrow thoughts and build harmony in the society.

A colourful march past by KSRP, DAR, women police, Home Guards, Fire and Emergency Services Department, Bharat Seva Dal, NCC cadets, Scouts, Guides, Road Safety Patrol (girls and boys) team and police band was the highlight of the event.

NCC Airwing (Juniors) team, led by Srihariharan, won the first place and NCC Airwing (seniors), team led by Shreyas L, won the second place in the march-past.

Rai also flagged off an awareness campaign launc- hed by the Department of Information and Public Relations. The campaign will be held across Dakshina Kannada district till September 3.

In the afternoon, cultural programmes by students from various educational institutions in the city were held at Town Hall. Children presented a variety of programmes on the occasion.