Nalin Kumar Kateel, the Member of Parliament representing Dakshina Kannada, has made a plea to the Southern Railway for the prompt completion of the road underbridge (RuB) at the Jeppu-Mahakali Padpu railway level crossing by March 2024. Following his inspection of the on-going projects under the Smart City Mission last Saturday, Kateel expressed his directive to officials from the Mangaluru Smart City Limited (MSCL) to finish the approach road to the RuB by May 2024.

The RuB is currently under construction, with an estimated budget of Rs 499 million. The railway authorities had initially committed to completing the Mahakali Padpu RuB by May 2024. Simultaneously, the MSCL had set a target to conclude the approach road by April 2024 in accordance with the tender conditions. Kateel has made a special request for the railway to expedite their work, aiming for completion by March, and the MSCL to finish the approach road by January.

Kateel also highlighted that the MSCL has successfully completed 55 projects so far, utilising Rs 7.45 billion out of the Rs 10 billion grant received through the Smart City Mission. Furthermore, four projects conducted through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach within the Smart City Mission framework are currently in progress.

In reference to the four-lane road stretching from Padil to Pumpwell (Mahaveera Circle), MP Kateel mentioned that certain pending tasks include the 24x7 drinking water supply scheme (Jalasiri), along with the relocation of utilities by GAIL, Mescom, and BSNL. He has issued instructions to officials to accelerate the work on this section after the utility relocation is completed.