Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone for a permanent campus of Indian Institute of Technology, Dharwad, and Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT).
Mr. Modi also dedicated to the nation seven major projects, including the City Gas Distribution (CGD) project, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) facility located in Mangaluru and Padur, 2,350 houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), and doubling of track in the Chikjajur-Mayakonda section of South Western Railways.
Mr. Modi unveiled the plaques of all these projects using digital technology on a stage set up adjacent to the venue of his public rally in the city. Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Revenue Minister R.V. Deshpande, Leader of the Opposition B.S. Yeddyurappa, MP Pralhad Joshi and others were present.
Campuses
The permanent campus of IIT Dharwad will come up on 470.21 acres in Chikkamalligawad-Kelageri village on the outskirts of the city, at an estimated cost of ₹1,160.34 crore. The master plan envisions a green, smart campus with world-class infrastructure.
The ₹114 crore IIIT project will come up on 60 acres of land at Tadasinakoppa village near Dharwad. The building is expected to be completed by July 2020.
The ₹178.43-crore CGD network will have inter-connected pipelines for supply of gas to domestic, industrial and commercial premises in the Dharwad geographical area. So far, 40.5 km of steel pipelines and 95.5 km of MDPE pipelines have been laid. Registration of 2,126 Pure Natural Gas (PNG) connections has been done. Plumbing work for 400 registered customers has been completed and these customers are ready for conversion to PNG.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserves located at Mangaluru and Padur are underground crude oil storages and will serve in response to external supply disruptions. The Mangaluru SRP, with 1.5 MMT capacity, has been constructed at a cost of ₹1,194.71 crore and can meet India’s crude requirements for 2.7 days. Similarly, the 2.5 MMT-capacity SPR located in Padur, constructed at a cost of ₹1,647.51 crore, can meet the crude requirement for 4.5 days.
Railway project
The doubling of 18 kms of track in Chikjajur-Mayakonda section, carried out at an estimated cost of ₹110 crore, is one of the major railway development projects in this region. Track doubling will increase the line capacity of this important route connecting Bengaluru to Hubballi, Belagavi and Mumbai, and boost economic activities as it is the main trunk route of Karnataka. Under this project, the railway stations at Chikjajur Junction, Sasalu and Mayakonda have been upgraded with new facilities.
