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Mangaluru : Asserting that the introduction of wide-bodied aircraft to the Mangalore International Airport (MIA) will prove beneficial in the long run, especially in area of cargo transport, Mangalore South MLA J R Lobo has opined that the runway must be extended by 180 metres.

Addressing a news conference on Tuesday in the city, Lobo said that wide-bodied aircraft will certainly take the cargo transport at the MIA to another level over a period of time.
He said that the issue had been discussed with incumbent Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation of India G M Siddeshwara for which the latter had replied that the project will cost about Rs 1,100 crore and that the government cannot afford it as of now. "Hence, we are working out on a PPP (public private partnership) model as already done in Cochin,” Lobo said that during his recent visit to Kuwait, he had raised the issue with the NRIs and a businessman has spontaneously agreed to invest about Rs 50 crore for the project.

"This is a clear indication that the entrepreneurs are willing to invest in such a project. A proposal in this regard will be placed before Siddaramaiah during a meet scheduled to be held on November 13. I will intimate Minister for Infrastructure Roshan  Baig on the issue in case if I am unable to attend the meeting,” he added.
 
Embankments to tackle floods
 
With a view of ensuring safety during floods caused due to overflowing  of Nethravati and Phalguni rivers here, Lobo informed that Nabard funded project of construction of embankments in and around Mangalore have been undertaken at a sum of Rs 3.40 crore by the Minor Irrigation Department.
 
A proposal to grant another Rs eight crore towards the project has been kept before the government, he said.
 
Construction of retaining walls across the storm water drains from Kuntalpaady in Padavu village to Balyakodi and Mugurukodi to Achchukodi in the same village, near Kallurti Daivasthana in Kudupu, pumphouse in Maroli to Poyya Kodi and renovation of the retaining wall at Naguri near Valencia in Kankanady among others have been taken up.
“The project is expected to be completed within three months,” he said.
Revealing his plans to undertake a special Flood Management Project for Nethravati river, he said the project may require about Rs 150 crore. A proposal in this regard has been submitted to the state government, which will be forwarded to the union government if passed by the state. If both the governments give a nod for the project, it will be funded equally by both the governments.

Allow NRI students to appear for CET

Lobo said that the NRI students in the state were not allowed to appear for CET exams as per the state education rules. He said that the state must adopt the Kerala, Maharashtra and Goa model in this regard which allows NRI students to write the competitive exam.

Education Dept mulls to stop school day celebrations in evening

Udupi: In the wake of rising molestation/attempt to rape and rape cases, especially on school going girls, the Udupi Department of Public Instruction is mulling to organise annual events of the school in the day time as against the age-old tradition of organizing the same during evening. This is one among the steps which the Department wants to implement towards providing safety to the girl students.

Going a step further the Education Department wants the opinion of general public regarding the same. As the department feels that it would be incorrect to take unilateral decision in this regard.
The department has asked the people to send a Yes/No message to 9448999353. Those who are in favour of having annual events in the day time have been asked to send ‘Yes’ and those who are not in favour, should send ‘No’ message. 

Deputy Director of Public Instruction Diwakar Shetty said “there are more than 1,200 schools in the District which follow the tradition of organizing annual events in the night. We want to discontinue and want the annual events to end by 6 pm, so that students can go home safely before dusk.”

The reason for inviting public opinion was to take the parents in to confidence. Usually we find that if public opinion goes against a decision then they can build pressure on people’s representatives, which will have adverse affects, Diwakar Shetty said adding that over the last few days the department has received 720 messages in favour and only one message not in favour of the decision, he added.

"The Theerthahalli child death case triggered our thought process as to how we can safeguard the students. We have no control over the situation which occurs outside the school premises, but we can implement precautionary measures like this to ensure safety," Diwakar Shetty said.     

A meeting with the Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer will be convened on November 5. Block education officials, education department officials and people’s representatives will attend the meeting to discuss the same issue and once a final verdict is out circular will be sent to the schools, informed Diwakar Shetty.

We are hoping to get a positive response as it is the question of the safety of the students, Diwakar Shetty said.  

Bantwal police bust ganja racket, nab four

Bantwal : Bantwal Rural police headed by SI Rakshith on Tuesday, November 4 busted a ganja racket and arrested four in Sajipa here. Five packets of ganja were recovered from them.

The arrested are Ashraf, Isaq, Abdul Khader and Siddique, residents of Ullal, Kinya and Thokkottu respectively.

On receiving information from reliable sources about the deal, police confiscated the Ritz car in which the four men were carrying ganja with an intention of selling it.

Sources claim that ganja dealing is a common sight in the entire taluk. It is said that ganja is sold in petty shops in places such as Sajipa, Melkar and nearby places.

It is also to be noted that three murder cases including Naushad murder case in June this year were all due to issues pertaining to ganja dealing.

Locals allege that police, despite having enough information about the racket, are reluctant to take suitable action against the culprits.