Mangaluru: Under heat from the Opposition Congress and the general public for tardy progress in infrastructure projects in Dakshina Kannada, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways on Monday Nitin Gadkari said that all National Highway works in the region will be hastened.
Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, who had come under severe criticism for the slow pace of ongoing national highway works, arranged a meeting with Mr. Gadkari and others concerned, including Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, in New Delhi, to thrash out the issues.
Mr. Kateel told The Hindu that the Minister asked Larsen & Toubro, contractor for work on four-laning the National Highway 75 between Addahole and B.C. Road (65 km), to immediately fill potholes on the existing carriageway.
Meanwhile, he asked NHAI officials to sort out legal hurdles coming in the way of land acquisition for the four-laning project to speed up the work.
Larsen & Toubro recently submitted a letter of foreclosure to NHAI stating that it cannot continue with the project following non-availability of required land and several additions and deletions in the project. Larsen & Toubro was awarded the contract at a cost of Rs. 821 crore under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode.
The MP further said that Mr. Gadkari called Larsen & Toubro chairman for another round of talks late on Monday to hasten the project.
National Highway 66:
Taking serious note of the slow progress in completing pending work on four-laning Talapady-Kundapura stretch of National Highway 66, Mr. Gadkari told NHAI and concessionaire Navayuga Udupi Tollway Pvt. Ltd. that all pending works should be completed by February-end, a communiqué from Mr. Kateel said.
The Union Minister also asked the State government officials to expedite land acquisition work for the proposed bypass of the national highways at Mulki-B.C. Road and Melkar-Konaje-Thokkottu as well as four-laning of Kulashekara-Karkala portion (National Highway 169).
The Union Minister said that he would be in Dakshina Kannada to inaugurate the completed four-laning work on National Highway 66 and to lay foundation stones for new works in February.
NHAI Chief General Manager Alok Deepankar, Regional Officer R.C. Suryavamshi and others were present.
Padayatra:
Meanwhile, the former district in-charge Minister B. Ramanath Rai has announced a padayatra from Nelyadi to B.C. Road between January 14 and January 16 demanding early completion of the four-laning work.