The government approved a Rs. 66-crore underground drainage project for Moodbidri town, said K. Abhayachandra Jain, local MLA and Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Sports and Fisheries.
He was addressing a gathering at a function organised by the government to lay the foundation stone for building an eight-lane 400m synthetic track at Swaraj Maidan here. M. Veerappa Moily, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister for Environment and Forests (MoEF) laid the foundation stone.
Mr. Jain said that the Union government would bear 80 per cent of the project cost under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns. The balance would be borne by the State government.
The Minister said that the work would begin within three months. Meanwhile, sources in the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board told The Hindu that the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada had issued the preliminary notification for acquiring 23 acres of land for the project.
Mr. Jain said the synthetic track in Moodbidri, to be built at an estimated cost of Rs. 4.25 crore, will have water sprinklers, which the synthetic track laid in Mangala Stadium in Mangalore does not have. It will also be green inside, unlike the Mangalore track. The Moodbidri track will be useful for all, including students from engineering and polytechnic colleges in the taluk.
Mr. Moily said that a project on how to develop sports talent in Moodbidri taluk could be submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for financial assistance.
He told M. Mohan Alva, Chairman, Alva’s Educational Institutions, Moodbidri: “If you want to promote sports, please make a project and come to Delhi, from the corpus fund or running fund, we can do something so that athletes can shine at the national and international level.”
Mr. Moily said that a post-graduation centre of Mangalore University could come up in Moodbidri. He also laid the foundation of a Kannada Bhavana for Bharat Scouts and Guides in the town.
