The Mangalore City Corporation has identified 34 properties that will have to be demolished for widening a stretch of Mahamayi Road, according to K.N. Vijayaprakash, Commissioner of the corporation.
He told The Hindu that the corporation had proposed to widen the 489-m stretch between Temple Square and Dongarakery Junction on Mahamayi Road.
According to preliminary estimation, the corporation requires 30 cents of private land for widening the stretch of the road, he said. The Commissioner said that the corporation would have to reconstruct the portions of structures that would be demolished, before re-laying the road. The cost of reconstructing the structures is yet to be finalised. The widened stretch of Mahamayi Road would be asphalted, he said.
M.K. Bhasker, Executive Engineer of the corporation, said that the cost of reconstruction would be finalised only after demolishing the structures.
Mr. Bhasker said that there was a temple pond abutting the road. While widening the road, a portion of the carriageway would have to pass over the pond.
To facilitate construction of the carriageway as well as preservation of the tank, concrete slabs would be laid over certain portion of the pond. Vehicles would move on the concrete slabs. The original stone steps of the pond under this section would be retained.
Deputy Commissioner V. Ponnuraj has entrusted the task of laying the slabs to Nirmiti Kendra. Workers of the kendra had started preliminary works, Mr. Vijayaprakash said.
Car Street
Mr. Vijayaprakash said that Car Street would be widened to 50 ft between Temple Square and Kalikamba Temple Junction.
Portions of structures on 40 properties on this stretch have been demolished. The corporation has taken into its possession 38 cents of private land to relay the road on this stretch to a length of 280 m.
The work on rebuilding the structures that were demolished was under progress. The reconstruction work will cost the corporation approximately Rs. 65 lakh. This stretch of the road would also be asphalted, he said.
The Commissioner said that the corporation would have to give special development rights or transferable development rights to owners of private properties for giving up their land for widening the two roads.
Mr. Bhasker said that bids would be invited soon for taking up re-laying of Car Street and construction of storm-water drains on both the sides. He hoped that the work could be completed before the rainy season.
He said that the work on widening Mahammayi Road would be taken up once the slabs were laid on the temple pond.
