Special Report: Concrete road along the sea and river!

• Special plan for people’s protection during an emergency

Mangaluru: During a tsunami or a cyclone, people living along the coasts lie in the path of danger and hence to provide quick rescue of people stranded along the coasts , the central government has decided to construct concrete road at various locations in the city. The work to construct the concrete roads worth crores together under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) has now received the green signal.

The aim of this plan is the upgradation of select prominent roads coming within the limits of the sea and the rivers. When confronted by a natural disaster, the affected locals will be transferred to safe areas by the use of this fully functional road. Accordingly, concrete roads will be constructed at six places in Mangaluru including Jeppinamogaru, Hoige Bazar, Sultan Battery, Sasihitlu, Ullal and other places.

Every single concrete road will cost from at least Rs 1 crore to as much as Rs 3 crore. Under this plan, the 1,200 meter long old road between Adankudru School to the church in Jeppinamogaru will be upgraded. The specialty is that this road which is presently 10 meters wide will be widened to 14 meters and wil also be concretised. The work is expected to begin in a few days.

Concrete

The construction of concrete road at Hoige Bazaar has already received permission, but first the drainage work will be taken up here under the smart city plan, post the completion of which the work on the construction of the concrete road will begin immediately, inform sources.

The central government has started this project to make use of the road at the prominent places along the coasts of the backwaters off the sea along with the Netravati and Phalguni rivers during the time of an emergency. The aim of the project is to develop the roads so that the locals can be easily rescued through the roads when confronted by a tsunami, cyclone or any other form of natural calamity.

A cyclone shelter will be created by utilizing the funds granted for disaster management under the NCRMP plan. The multi-purpose cyclone shelter is being built with the aim to provide safety and shelter to the people in case of natural disaster like a cyclone.  The shelter is being built at the cost of Rs 35 crore, can accommodate 1,000 people and had the capacity to withstand the forces of a cyclone. The shelters have been planned to be constructed at 7 places at a distance of 5 kms from the coast at Hosabettu, Ombattukere in Ullal, Udupi, Kaup, Karwar and other places. The shelters will have separate accommodation, restroom, kitchen and bathroom facilities for men and women. For the effective use of the shelter, it can also be used for school; children activity and also as a community hall.

Implementation in 13 states

The construction of concrete roads and cyclone shelters will be undertaken in 13 states of the country under the NCRMP plan. In the 1^st phase it will be in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, in the 2^nd phase it will be implemented in Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka and Gujarat and in the 3^rd phase it will be cover Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu and the other states. The work has been undertaken with monetary assistance from the World Bank, using the grant from the state and union government, state disaster management authority and the natural calamity management division of the revenue department.

Six roads to be upgraded

“sic roads coming within Mangaluru’s limits will be concretised under the NCRMP plan to make it convenient for the rescue of the people who reside by the sea and river side in case of tsunami or a cyclone. The aim of the project is to give importance to the rescue of the locals by upgrading the connecting roads,” informed Vijay Kumar, Disaster Management Officer, DK