Mayor urges swift progress on Mangaluru's Mahaveer Circle-Padil Road

Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur, accompanied by Praveen Chandra Alva, the opposition leader of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) council, conducted an inspection of the Mahaveer Circle (Pumpwell)-Padil Road stretch. This 2.8 km stretch, considered a vital entrance to the city, is undergoing a four-lane development project with an estimated cost of Rs 240 billion through the Mangaluru Smart City Limited (MSCL). Despite the project being initiated in February 2022, progress has been sluggish, prompting concerns about the inconvenience caused to motorists. The MSCL initiated the development after the denotification of the old National Highway stretch, formerly part of Mangaluru-Bengaluru NH 75. Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur, expressing concern over the delayed work affecting traffic, visited the site with engineers. He instructed officials to expedite the completion of the four-lane road, emphasising the need for finishing the project by March 2024. Due to additional tasks such as constructing retaining walls and underground drainage, the project cost may increase to Rs 300 million. The Padil-Pumpwell stretch, part of 11 road projects undertaken by MSCL, connects National Highway 75 (Mangalore-Bangalore) with National Highway 66 (Kasaragod-Mangalore-Udupi). Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur noted that the progress of the road project has been hindered by delays in laying natural gas pipelines by GAIL and drinking water supply pipelines under the 'Jalasiri' government scheme. The completion of gas and water supply pipelines is expected by the end of this month. In addition to widening the road to four lanes, which is a crucial route for vehicles from Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Madikeri entering the city, MSCL plans to install streetlights along the busy stretch.