Affirming his commitment to completing the flyover works in Thokkottu and Pumpwell of the Talapady-Kundapur four-laning work on National Highway 66, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that the two works will be completed by May 31 at any cost.
In his address through a video conference at a function to lay foundation stones for the ₹ 193-crore fishing harbour at Kulai near here, Mr. Gadkari said that a few issues have delayed completion of the two works causing inconvenience to the public.
“MP Nalin Kumar Kateel has raised this issue with me a number of times,” Mr. Gadkari said and added that he has now arranged for a loan of ₹ 55 crore for the concessionaire Navayuga Udupi Tollway Pvt. Ltd., and also granted additional funds of ₹ 7 crore. “I have directed NHAI officials to complete the two works in the prescribed time,” he said and added that the Thokkottu flyover work will be completed by March 31 and the Pumpwell work by May 31.
Mr. Gadkari said that the fishing harbour in Kulai in Mangaluru will be among the 28 fishing harbours coming up under the Sagarmla project.
Work on four fishing harbours are taken up in the State, followed by five each in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, six in Maharashtra, three in Gujarat, two each in Odisha and Kerala and one in Goa.
The new fishing harbour in Kulai will be completed May 2022.
The new harbour will ease congestion at the Mangaluru fishing harbour and help fishermen in Kulai and adjoining areas to land more fish catch. The Kulai harbour will provide direct employment to 2,300 fishermen and generate 1,700 onshore employment opportunities. The harbour will provide shelter to 120 trawlers of 12 m length, 110 trawlers of 18 m length and 45 purse seine boats. The annual fish landing will be about 27,100 tonnes that will generate revenue of ₹ 172 crore, he said.
Kailash Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Shipping (Sagarmala project), said that Kulai fishing harbour work was a long-pending demand of those who had given up their land for the New Mangalore Port.
While the Centre was bearing 50 % of the cost, the New Mangalore Port Trust was bearing 45 % and the State government 5 % of the cost. The State has granted 11 acres of land, he said.
Mr. Agarwal said that the Union government has already released the first instalment ₹ 49 crore for the Kulai harbour work.
MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, district in-charge Minister U.T. Khader and NMPT Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu spoke.
