'Include B'luru-Hassan NH under Sagarmala'

MANGALURU: Union ministry of shipping launched the NDA government's ambitions Sagarmala Project in the state at Hotel Taj West End, Bengaluru.
Kaushik Mukherjee, chief secretary, government of Karnataka; additional secretary, Union ministry of shipping, principal secretaries and senior officers from the state and central governments, stakeholders and representatives from chamber of commerce, railways, FKCCI, FIEO, were present.
Sagarmala has been envisioned to provide ports and shipping the rightful place in Indian economy and to enable port-led development.
The key objective of the project is to promote port-led direct and indirect development and to provide necessary infrastructure to transport goods to and from the ports quickly, efficiently and in a cost-effective manner, said P C Parida, chairman, New Mangalore Port Trust, while briefing about the importance the Union government attached to the project.
Mukherjee urged the Centre to include vital projects such as four-laning of Mangalore-Hassan NH and linking of Hubballi-Ankola railway line in the project so as to ensure seamless movement of cargo to and from the port.
He also emphasized the need for one more major port in North Karnataka for the overall development of that region.
According to him, early completion of fisheries harbour here and relaxation of CRZ regulation for developing tourism should be part of Sagarmala.R K Agarwal, joint secretary to government of India (Sagarmala), ministry of shipping gave a presentation on overall vision of Sagarmala project and its benefits to the state.
This was followed by stakeholders' session that deliberated the role of Sagarmala Development Company [SDC] and funding pattern of projects to be undertaken under Sagarmala. A K Saran, deputy secretary, government of India, ministry of Shipping proposed the vote of thanks .