Caution: 'Smart City', GAIL India, works in Mangaluru have made roads in city dangerous for motorist
Despite several police barricades lying unused, authorities have failed to put it to use for safety
MCC Commissioner assures VB of "definite" action against concerned agency, contractors
Mangaluru: In early June, a young man in his mid-twenties was riding his scooter towards Balmatta Junction from Bunts Hostel. As he took a turn towards Balmatta Junction at Jyothi Circle, his two-wheeler skid off the road leaving him reeling on the concrete road with a few injuries.
The reason his scooter skidded was he rode it into a barricade tape that was put in place to stop vehicles from entering an under-construction site of ‘smart city works’. It was past midnight and the area vicinity had power cut, the young man could not suddenly spot the barricade tape and rode into it. The accident, however, went unreported due to the injuries to the motorist being minor. The local auto drivers quickly picked him up and sent him home. But on any other day, the accident could have been fatal.
In the past few months, since the smart city works and installation of GAIL India pipeline work gained pace in the city, such incidents of motorists meeting such unreported accidents and vehicles sustaining damages after pitting into a deadly pothole on an otherwise smooth road have become normal. Luckily for the administration, none of these accidents have turned fatal but unfortunately, for the public, these minor incidents have not prompted the authorities to put safety measures at the spots that hold deadly potholes that are capable of causing grievous injuries to motorists if not kill them.
At various important junctions and roads across the city, there are potholes dug as a part of smart city and GAIL India Pipeline work. They are either left uncovered after the completion of work, or the work has been left incomplete without putting in place safety measures around the area.
At places where the work has been completed, the potholes have been covered merely with mud which has spoiled the city’s landscape in monsoon.
Ambedkar (Jyothi) circle, Balmatta Junction, Bendorewell, Attavar, Falnir, Kadri, and Bolar are among a few of the areas where the potholes have become a means of inconvenience for the motorists. Uninterrupted monsoon over the last few days in the city has only made the picture worse for the riders and drivers as the waterlogged potholes tend to become unnoticeable, especially during night hours.
When contacted, Mangaluru Smart City works’ General Manager Arun said while a few of these potholes are indeed due to Smart City work, he also added that most of the dangerous and deeply excavated spots were that of GAIL India which is installing underground pipeline across the city.
In the past, people across the city have also complained about the inconveniences caused due to the installation work of the GAIL India pipeline and have objected to their excavations drive. Several places including Baikampady and other localities were severely affected by the pipeline installation work.
MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar, was also contacted by Vartha Bharati for a comment on the matter. Akshy said he will look into the matter at the earliest and initiate action in this regard.
“Action will definitely be initiated against the concerned agency/contractor,” he told Vartha Bharati.
Despite several police barricades lying unused across the city, the police department and the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) authorities have failed to put them to use for the safety of people on the city’s roads.
It is also important for motorists to be attentive to details on the road, but it is more important for authorities to put safety measures in place and be attentive to their duty of ensuring the safety of people.
While it is also agreeable that there could be several inconveniences in establishing the city as a smart city, but is it really smart to put the lives of people in-line to achieve the feat?
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Karnataka releases Rs 300 cr aid for sugarcane growers, Rs 50 per tonne to be credited directly
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has released Rs 300 crore as financial assistance to sugarcane growers for the 2025-26 season, with Rs 50 per tonne to be credited directly to farmers who supplied cane to sugar factories across the state, Minister Shivanand Patil said on Wednesday.
The assistance forms part of the state's commitment to provide Rs 100 per tonne over and above the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP), with the burden to be shared equally between the government and sugar factories, he added.
"As announced by the state government, Rs 300 crore has been released as financial assistance of Rs 50 per tonne to farmers who supplied sugarcane to sugar factories in the state during the 2025-26 season," Patil, who holds Sugarcane Development, Sugar, Textiles and Agricultural Marketing said in a statement.
The minister recalled that at a meeting of sugar factory owners and sugarcane growers convened by the chief minister at Vidhana Soudha on November 8 last year, a decision was taken to provide Rs 100 per tonne over and above FRP.
"It was decided that of the Rs 100 assistance, the state government would bear Rs 50 and the sugar factories would contribute Rs 50," Patil said, adding that the government has now released its share of Rs 300 crore in accordance with the decision.
Based on proposals submitted by sugar factories, the Sugarcane Development Commissioner will release the funds to the Deputy Commissioners. Directions have been issued to ensure that Rs 50 per tonne is directly credited into the bank accounts of farmers, based on the quantity of cane supplied, he said.
Similarly, the Deputy Commissioners have been instructed to ensure that sugar factory managements provide their share of Rs 50 per tonne to eligible farmers, Patil explained.
Providing details of the ongoing crushing season, the minister said, "So far, 521 lakh metric tonne of sugarcane have been crushed, and about 600 lakh metric tonne are expected to be crushed during the season."
During the 2025-26 season, 81 sugar factories have undertaken crushing operations, of which 29 have completed the process, he added.
According to him, the crushing season is expected to conclude by the first week of March, and the financial assistance has been calculated based on the estimated crushing of 600 lakh metric tonne, the minister added.
