Union Minister Sonowal unveils Rs 1500 crore infra, CSR projects in Mangaluru
Mangaluru(PTI): Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday unveiled 16 infrastructure and 113 CSR projects worth Rs 1,500 crore at the golden jubilee celebrations of the NMPA here.
Speaking at the event, Sonowal said the projects mark a major step in strengthening India’s maritime infrastructure under the government’s Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways added that New Mangalore Port Authority has signed MoUs worth Rs 52,000 crore as part of India Maritime Week 2025 in Mumbai, according to a press release.
Tracing the port’s five-decade journey since its commissioning in 1975, Sonowal said NMPA now handles over 46 million tonnes of cargo annually and aims to reach 100 million tonnes by 2047.
The port has achieved 92 per cent mechanisation and operates as India’s largest coffee exporter and second-largest LPG importer, the release said.
Sonowal also inaugurated the renovated Mangalore Marine College and Technology (MMCT) campus and a new Rs 9.51-crore office building of the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD).
He highlighted that the number of Indian seafarers has risen from 1.08 lakh in 2014 to over 3.2 lakh now, projecting that one in every five global seafarers will be Indian by 2030, the release added.
The minister said NMPA has transitioned to 100 per cent solar power and adopted green cargo policies.
Karnataka has 32 ongoing Sagarmala projects worth Rs 6,526 crore to boost port-led industrial and coastal development, he added.
Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi, MP Brijesh Chowta, former MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, MLAs Dr Bharath Shetty and D Vedavyasa Kamath, and senior port and shipping officials were present.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
