Public Works Minister C.C. Patil on Monday informed the Legislative Assembly that his department will ask the Finance Department to reconsider the proposal for construction of a bridge connecting Kotepura in Ullal and Bolara in Mangaluru across the Netravathi.
Responding to a plea by Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Mangaluru (Ullal) MLA U.T. Khader for the bridge that could drastically reduce the distance between Ullal region and Mangaluru city, Mr. Patil said the department would take up the work if the department approves the proposal.
In his written reply to a starred question by Mr. Khader in this regard, Mr. Patil had said there was a proposal to take up the bridge work on the Mangaluru-Chervattur major district road through Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd., (KRDCL) at an estimated cost of ₹150 crore.
This project was included in the list of 504 bridges to be constructed across the State at an estimated cost of ₹1,590 crore by KDRDL.
The Finance Department however said the work cold not be taken up till KRDCL completes all pending works and financially closes them.
Responding to this, Mr. Khader said he had got the proposal submitted to the Finance Department when he was a Minister in the previous government.
Saying KRDCL was overburdened with pending works was not the answer, he said and added: “It does not matter who cooks the food; but the meal should be served. Please take up the work under your department itself”.
Mr. Khader noted that before the construction of NH 66 and the bridges across the Netravathi, barge services between Kotepura and Bolara connected the Mangaluru-Chervattur (Kerala) major district road in the 70s.
While increased traffic on NH 66 was hampering vehicular movement between Ullal region and Mangaluru city, the Kotepura-Bolara bridge, besides drastically reducing the distance between two points, would provide easy access to the city, he maintained.
