Mangaluru: The prolonged delay in completing the twin railway underbridges (RUB) at Mahakalipadpu is causing heavy traffic congestion on the Pumpwell bypass—Mangaluru city’s main southern entry point.
Though the Southern Railway’s Palakkad division has finished pushing all four concrete boxes into place, Mangaluru Smart City Limited (MSCL) has yet to build the approach roads on either side of the RUBs. MSCL officials say that work is stalled as waterlogging persists, and the Railways have only laid 120m of the required 300m drainage pipeline.
The ₹50 crore, 4-lane RUB project, launched on March 29, 2021, by then MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and MLA D Vedavyas Kamath, was expected to ease vehicular pressure. But with the Jeppu–Jappinamogaru road closed for construction, all vehicles from Ullal, Kerala, Mudipu, and Konaje are funneling through the Pumpwell bypass, choking traffic during peak hours.
Local activists and organizations, frustrated by the inaction, have ramped up pressure. DYFI district secretary Santhosh Bajal criticized elected officials for lacking the will to see the project through. He warned that protests would escalate, possibly involving dharnas in front of MSCL or Railway offices.
Tulunada Rakshana Vedike founder Yogish Shetty Jeppu urged citizens to unite and demand swift completion. Meanwhile, MSCL general manager (technical) Arun Prabha KS assured that roadwork will resume immediately after the drainage pipeline is fully laid.