The main road leading from Mallikatta Circle to Kadri Manjunatha temple in the city has now become free of live overhead electricity cables. Twenty-four heritage street lights installed on this upgraded concrete road by the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) are set to be inaugurated on Saturday evening.
According to D.K. Ashok Kumar, councillor, Kadri South, Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd. (Mescom) has laid 11-kV underground power cable on about 680-m road stretch from the circle to the temple. Following this, the live overhead power cables have been removed, and the heritage street lights have been connected from the underground cable.
Mr. Kumar told The Hindu that with the muzarai temple frequented by many tourists, including from abroad, getting ready for the annual fair from January 15 and ‘Brahmakalashotsava’ celebrations from May 9, the main road leading to the temple has got a facelift. While upgrading the temple road into a concrete one, manholes have been re-built using reinforced cement concrete and not from laterite stones. Provision has been made to lay water supply lines on both the sides of the road. The footpaths have been laid using tiles.
The councillor said the corporation would soon install 12 heritage street lights on the Kadri Kambla Road and Government School Road, which join the main temple road in the Kadri vicinity.
The civic body is now building eight toilets near Kadri grounds from ₹13 lakh sponsored by MRPL. In addition, using funds from donors Bhandary Builders and Tejaswini Hospital, four circles/junctions in the Kadri vicinity have been beautified. They are at Mallikatta, near the Kadri ground, near the Tejaswini hospital, and near the government school.
He said the corporation would install 40 signboards and five main boards in Kadri area shortly. “Two large traditional heritage lamps will be installed at the entrance of the temple shortly as an attraction,” he said.