Karwar: The building of the Karwar City Municipal Council (CMC) office which is one of the oldest buildings of Uttara Kannada district, will soon be history. A modern office and shops will be constructed on that land.

As the building housing the office of the CMC had become around 150 years old, the government gave approval for construction of a new building. The then chief minister Siddaramaiah laid the 
foundation stone for the work.

“A tender has been called for clearing the 151-years-old building. If contractors accept the conditions posed by the government, the building clearing task will begin in another week’s time. Or else, the tender has to be re-invited”, said CMC Commissioner Yogeeshwar.

Construction in 2 phases:

“The new building housing the CMC office will be constructed in two phases. 
Each phase will be completed at an estimated cost of 
Rs two crore. The new building will have administrative offices and commercial shops”, 
Yogeeshwar informed while explaining the new project plan.

He added that from now onwards, the gate on MG Road will serve as an entrance 
for the CMC office only. Outside the office, commercial shops will be constructed in an ‘L’ shape. These shops will
have an entrance from the western side (from NH 66 side). In addition to this, toilet and parking facility will also be created.

Second phase:

In the second phase of the construction work, an auditorium facing the sea will be constructed. Till then, the present auditorium will not be demolished, Yogeeshwar clarified.

Set up in 1864:

The Karwar urban local body was established during the British era on June 30, 1864 and later was converted into City Municipal Council (CMC) in 1986. In 1860 itself, a committee comprising 23 members was formed to take up various activities related to the local administration. Later, the guidelines of the CMC were implemented by appointing a commissioner. The urban local body and CMC of Karwar together have been led by 59 presidents till now.