Member of Parliament Umesh Jadhav has expressed unhappiness over the delay by officials of the Public Works Department in releasing the department’s share for the construction of railway underbridge near Kulaki in Afzalpur taluk in Kalaburagi district.
Chairing a District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) review meeting in Kalaburagi on Thursday, Mr. Jadhav slammed the department officials for their lethargic approach in releasing ₹ 15.67 lakh, 2 % share, for the construction of the underbridge. Though the Centre has released ₹ 7.84 crore for the construction work, the department has failed to release its share.
The Assistant Engineer of the department of Afzalpur Division was asked to submit the details of funds released through the department for the project immediately.
Mr. Jadhav and MLA and Chairman of the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB) Dattatreya Patil Revoor also expressed dissatisfaction over the slow pace of work on the railway overbridge near Biddapur Colony on the outskirts of the city.
When the officials of the Public Works Department and the Railways failed to give specific reason for the delay, it was confirmed that the lack of cooperation and coordination between both the departments has hindered the pace of work.
The officials said that the much-awaited railway overbridge near Jewargi Road would be completed by the end of September or in the month of October.
RT-PCR lab
Mr. Jadhav criticised the Central University of Karnataka for delay in setting up a RT-PCR test laboratory at the university even after the equipment was made available.
“The Centre sanctioned ₹ 32 lakh to the university in February; even after four months, the university has not established the laboratory. It would have helped the district administration to screen likely COVID-19 cases in Aland and Kalaburagi taluk if the university had informed about the availability of laboratory equipment earlier,” Mr. Jadhav added.
He instructed university Pro-Vice-Chancellor G.R. Naik to keep the district administration updated of the activities being taken up at the university and also update the letters received from the Ministry of Human Resources Department.
Night-landing facility
To a query, Kalaburagi Airport Director Gyaneshwar Rao said that the airport is fit in all respects for night-landing of flights. The airport would start the facility by July 2021, he added.
Zilla panchayat Chief Executive Officer P. Raja received appreciation for effective implementation of MGNREGA Scheme, by issuing 40,000 job cards to daily wage workers during COVID-19.
