Karwar: Republic Day was celebrated at the police parade ground on Sunday, with Fisheries Minister Mankal S. Vaidya, who is also the district in-charge minister of Uttara Kannada, hoisting the national flag and receiving the guard of honour.
In his address, Minister Vaidya announced that the Sagarmala Cell is reviewing six development projects worth ₹346 crore for Uttara Kannada, with four projects valued at ₹303 crore already approved. A 30 MTPA capacity port in Keni village, Ankola taluk, has been sanctioned under a PPP model at a cost of ₹4,118 crore. Additionally, preparations are underway to issue an RFP for a ₹3,047 crore Greenfield port with a 14 MTPA capacity in Pavinkurve village.
Fisheries and Infrastructure Development
The district’s first fisheries research centre is being established in Bhatkal taluk, and the fish landing centres at Alvekodi and Tenginagundi have been upgraded to ports. A ₹220 crore outer harbour project is progressing in Murdeshwar. The minister also announced increased compensation for damaged fishing equipment, now ₹10 lakh (up from ₹1 lakh), and for fishing-related deaths, which has risen from ₹6 lakh to ₹8 lakh.
Land Management Initiatives
Minister Vaidya highlighted the implementation of Land Beat software to tackle government land encroachment, reporting a 97.22% progress rate with 1,01,005 cases approved.
Prominent attendees included Karwar MLA Satish Sail, MLC Ganapati Ulvekar, CMC President Raviraj Ankolekar, Deputy Commissioner Lakshmipriya, and ZP CEO Ishwar Kandu.
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