Reports have mentioned of the City Corporation plans to construct a new Central
Market building in Mangalore at a cost of Rs 100 crores. The result of the haphazard
concretization spree embarked upon by the City Corporation utilizing the Rs 100 crore
grant sanctioned earlier by the CM, is already before us.
The corporation which was facing paucity of funds to even pay its staff, later on chalked
out a novel idea of filling its treasury in the name of Self Assessment Property Tax. By
then , for its good luck, it received Rs 200 crore grant from the government. Now there
are reports of spending another Rs 100 crore for the reconstruction of the central market.
No one will say that Mangalore does not need a full-fledged Central Market. Mangalore
needs many more amenities. Prior to taking up the market project, Mangalore
urgently needs a full-fledged city and service bus stand. Why should he MCC keep
the bus stand projects pending just for the reason that funds have not come through?
There is no facility for parking of four and two wheelers in Hampankatta, Bunder and
Valencia in Mangalore. Is the MCC waiting for funds even for this? Even the logic that
the MCC is waiting for another Rs 100 crores even to complete the city Airport Road
four-laning works, may not be wrong.
When the then union minister for civil aviation Pramod Mahajan had announced the
project of widening the 20 km long airport road at a cost of Rs 18 crore ten years ago,
the then Congress rule in MCC had no determination to take up the project.
The present BJP administration which ought to have completed the project at least in
memory of its star politician, has not done anything significant towards that direction.
The stretch of the road has been concreted at places with majority of the road still lying
unattended to.
The number of flights to and fro Mangalore has also increased significantly during the
past two year period when Mangalore airport has become international. But the road
leading to this airport is something that most dread to think of.
In order to attract investment in Mangalore and coastal district Yogish Bhat and Karnik
are asking high-powered diplomacy in high level circuits. But how is it that these
leaders have not though that the airport road which remains in a hotchpotch state should
be completed on priority basis ? If there was shortage of funds, wouldn’t the CM have
granted another Rs 100 crores ?
When will our rulers realise the fact that development is impossible without upgrading
the road infrastructure ? What has the government done towards the development of
the coastal districts ? Aren’t we eligible to have a four-lane road from Bangalore to
Mangalore and from Mangalore to Karwar and Mysore(Considering the inordinately slow
pace of the Suratkal-BC road works, one has to conclude that the rest of the four-lane
works are a mirage).
One cannot say that the local leaders and ministers are unaware of the state of the airport
road as they too use this road to reach the airport. The incomplete works of the airport
road is a glaring example to the lackadaisical approach of the authorities. In reality the
airport connectivity should be not merely through Kadri Guest house, but also via Jokatte
and Baikampady junctions as this would help even passengers from Udupi and Uttara
Kannada districts.
One cannot by any count say that there is paucity of funds for the same as the Union
Government is ready to grant any amount of funds for the port town of Mangalore
for its port and airport connectivity programme. But what is needed is the vision and
determination on to our leaders to utilize the resources within a time frame. But do they
have it ?
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