Historic Market at Risk Due to Highway Expansion in Mangaluru

MANGALURU: Following the demolition of the 109-year-old Government Higher Primary School in Kudupu for NH-169 widening, another historic site faces a similar fate. The Bikarnakatte-Kaikamba Saturday Shandy, a local market integral to the community for the past five decades, is threatened by the same road widening project. If the expansion proceeds, the market could either be entirely removed or reduced to a third of its current size.

Currently, the market is safeguarded from immediate action due to ongoing High Court proceedings regarding compensation. The conflict lies between the Bhoomalikara Horata Samiti NH 169 and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) over the land acquisition compensation in Padavu village for NH 169’s development between Bikarnakatte and Sanoor.

The NHAI has resisted withdrawing the case against the compensation awarded by the Special Land Acquisition Officer (SLAO). Since the process began in May 2016, multiple notifications have been issued and subsequently canceled, causing a seven-year delay for land acquisition and development. According to the SLAO, 97,053 square meters of land need to be acquired at a cost of Rs 286.5 crore.

Councillor Kishore Kottary of Ward 35 (Padavu Central) noted that the NHAI requires 22.5 meters of land from the center of the existing road, potentially reducing the market’s size to less than half an acre. This market, serving a 10 km radius, is vital for affordable produce due to lower rental costs compared to other developed markets.

NHAI project director Abdulla Javed Azmi clarified that Padavu village remains outside the NHAI’s purview until the legal case is resolved. Development will proceed from the end of Padavu village near Kudupu, indicating the market area is not currently targeted.