Former Dakshina Kannada in-charge Minister B. Ramanath Rai on Thursday announced he would take out a padayatra from Nelliyadi to B.C. Road from January 14 to 16 seeking the immediate completion of the National Highway 75 four-laning work between Addahole and B.C. Road.
“The NDA government at the Centre has not brought in new projects to Dakshina Kannada or completed the projects started during the UPA II regime. This speaks volumes about the Lok Sabha member [representing the district],” Mr. Rai told reporters here.
The Addahole-B.C. Road (65 km) four-laning work is part of the Hassan-B.C. Road four-laning project of NH 75 sanctioned d uring the tenure of UPA.
Mr. Rai said NH 75 is the lifeline of Dakshina Kannada, connecting the district with Bengaluru and other regions and also connecting the New Mang alore Port. With contractor Larsen and Toubro deciding to foreclose the contract citing non-cooperation from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the safety of thousands of road users is at stake, with the half-completed work posing a grave danger to vehi cle users, Mr. Rai said.
He said the padayatra would commence from Nelliyadi on January 14 and halt at Uppinangady. On day two, it will continue from there and end at Mani. On the last day, the padayatra will end at B.C. Road. Public meetings will be conducted in all four places highlighting the failure of the NDA government and the Dakshina Kannada MP to complete ongoing infrastructure projects, Mr. Rai said.
The former Minister alleged that instead of providing new projects to the region, the NDA government was busy “snatching or privatising” assets created by the Congress earlier. There are attempts to privatise Mangaluru International Airport and part of the New Mangalore Port Trust, he said. On the other hand, Vijaya Bank, which had its birth in Dakshina Kannada, is being merged with Bank of Baroda, he added.
Mr. Rai said the people of the region, irrespective of political affiliations, have expressed desire to participate in the padayatra as they are “fed up with the apathy” of the Centre. The government is still unable to complete four-laning work of NH 66, including Pumpwell Flyover, he added.
