Charmadi Ghat to be upgraded to two-lane highway with Rs 343.74 Cr central grant: MP Capt. Chowta
Mangaluru (Karnataka), Nov 9: Dakshina Kannada MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta on Saturday said the Charmadi Ghat section of National Highway-73, a vital passage through Karnataka’s Western Ghats, is set to undergo a major expansion, widening the route to two lanes with a central allocation of Rs 343.74 crore.
The MP told PTI on Saturday that the 11-kilometre stretch would be expanded, improving connectivity between Mangaluru, Mudigere, and Tumakuru.
With the tender process completed, construction is expected to begin soon, aiming to ease travel for passengers from Karnataka's coastal districts and enhance regional goods transport, a change expected to positively impact local commerce.
Highlighting the strategic importance of this upgrade, Capt. Chowta thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, and officials involved in advancing this project, noting its anticipated benefits for the local economy and Karnataka’s connectivity.
"The expansion will not only alleviate traffic bottlenecks along Charmadi Ghat but also transform it into a more dependable transit corridor," he remarked.
According to officials, the project will improve links between coastal regions and upghat areas like Chikkamagaluru and Hassan and for travellers heading toward Bengaluru. The narrow roads in Charmadi Ghat have long created a bottleneck, restricting smooth flow.
However, National Highway authorities have indicated that it remains uncertain whether the upgraded highway will directly aid container shipments, such as coffee and spices, moving through New Mangaluru Port.
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BharatPe fraud case: Delhi HC quashes lookout circular against Ashneer Grover, wife
New Delhi, Nov 12: The Delhi High Court has ordered cancellation of a lookout circular (LOC) issued against Ashneer Grover, the former MD of payment app BharatPe, and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, noting that the FIR lodged against them over allegations of cheating and forgery has already been quashed.
Justice Sanjeev Narula passed the order on Monday after the court was informed that another bench of the high court quashed the FIR on the same day.
The FIR was quashed by Justice Chandra Dhari Singh after considering a plea moved by the Grovers stating that they have arrived at a settlement with the fintech company.
In his order, Justice Narula said, "Although the copy of the order (quashing the FIR) is not available as of now, the aforenoted fact is not disputed by the counsel for the parties.
"In light of the fact that the underlying FIR has been quashed, the LOC issued by respondent No. 3 (Bureau of Immigration), in the opinion of the court, will not survive."
The LOC was issued by the Bureau of Immigration at the instance of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in view of the investigation against the Grovers in the cheating and forgery FIR.
The court was hearing a plea moved by Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover seeking quashing of the LOC issued against them in connection with the investigation into the cheating and forgery case.
"Accordingly, the present petitions are disposed of with a direction to the respondents to cancel the LOC against the petitioners in their records," the court noted.
Earlier, the Grovers claimed that they were informed about the LOC for the first time when they were detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on November 16, 2023, while they were scheduled to travel to the US.
After being detained, they were informed that the LOC was operational from November 6, 2023.
In May last year, the EOW filed an FIR against Grover, his wife Madhuri, and others under eight sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 467 and 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) for an alleged Rs 81 crore fraud after a complaint was lodged by BhartPe, the fintech unicorn.
In its complaint, BharatPe alleged that Grover and his family caused damages to the tune of Rs 81.3 crore through illegitimate payments to bogus human resource consultants, inflated and undue payments through pass-through vendors connected to the accused, sham transactions in input tax credit and payment of penalty to GST authorities, illegal payment to travel agencies, forged invoices by Madhuri, and destruction of evidence.
Madhuri was the head of controls at BharatPe before she was fired in 2022 after a forensic audit revealed several irregularities.
Subsequently, Grover resigned as the chief executive officer of the fintech firm in March 2022.
