Gadkari inaugurates India's second longest cable-stayed bridge in Karnataka; Congress skips event over Siddaramaiah snub

Sagar, Shivamogga: Despite Chief Minister Siddaramaiah requesting Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari to postpone the inaugural ceremony of the country's second longest cable-stayed bridge citing he was not intimated in advance, Gadkari inaugurated the bridge constructed across Sharavathi backwaters between Bargodlu-Kalasavalli in Sagar taluk and performed puja at the bridge on Monday, braving the rains.

Gadkari laid the foundation stone to commemorate the inauguration of the bridge and then dedicated the bridge to the nation. Later, he offered bagina to the Sharavathi river.

Minister Nitin Gadkari, who arrived at the Mankale helipad in Sagar from the Shivamogga airport, reached the bridge by road from there.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, BJP Parliamentary Board Member BS Yediyurappa, State BJP President BY Vijayendra, Shivamogga MP BY Raghavendra, MLAs Araga Jnanendra, SN. Channabasappa, MLCs DS Arun, Dhananjaya Sarji, former ministers Kagodu Thimmappa, Hartalu Halappa, Sigandur Kshetra Dharmadarshi S. Ramappa, Kagodu Thimmappa's daughter Dr Rajanandini Kagodu were present on the occasion.

Before the inauguration, locals prayed for the safety of the bridge and performed Gana Homa and special puja.

The locals decorated the bridge with mango leaves and garlands, and hundreds of residents from Tumari, Byakodu, Sigandur, and Kalasavalli came in large numbers, holding umbrellas, wearing raincoats to witness the moment of dedication. They were thrilled to see that their decades of hardship had been resolved. They walked on both sides of the bridge holding umbrellas and were happy.

Banners with portraits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Pralhad Joshi, BJP Parliamentary Board Member B.S. Yediyurappa, and Shivamogga MP B.Y. Raghavendra were displayed on the bridge path.

This bridge, which comes on the National Highway 369E between Sagara and Marakutika, has an area of 2.44 km and is 16 meters wide in the Sharavathi backwater of Linganamakki Dam. The bridge has been built at a cost of Rs 473 crore.

This bridge is an important connection route for the villages under the Karur-Barangi hobli limits of Sagar taluk and the Sigandur Chowdeshwari Temple, a pilgrimage center in Malnad.

Congress leaders skipped the event

Congress leaders including Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi, School Education and Literacy Department Minister Madhu Bangarappa, who is also in-charge of Shivamogga district, and Sagar MLA Belur Gopalakrishna skipped the inaugural ceremony of the bridge.