MP Brijesh Chouta has visited and inspected the Kettikal area near Wamanjoor on the outskirts of Mangaluru, where a hill is experiencing collapses due to ongoing national highway construction. During his visit, he directed the district administration to convene a meeting with relevant authorities, including the Revenue Department, Municipal Corporation, Kudremukh, and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), to implement necessary precautionary measures to prevent potential natural calamities.
Chouta’s inspection included visiting residential areas on top of the hill to assess risks faced by houses near drainage wet wells. Local residents expressed concerns about the ongoing work and questioned who would be held responsible if a significant collapse or damage were to occur.
The MP later inspected the ongoing highway construction work. He instructed officials to coordinate with the district administration when conducting such high-risk work, emphasising that appropriate precautionary measures should be implemented after consulting local residents and public representatives. Chouta recommended that a meeting involving concerned departments be convened promptly on Monday to discuss and decide on precautionary measures.
During his visit, Mayor Sudhir Shetty Kannur, Additional DC Dr Santosh Kumar, Tehsildar Prashant Patil, National Highway Authority Planning Director Abdul Javed Azi, along with members from Manapa and local residents, were present.
Commenting on the natural calamities affecting many parts of the Dakshina Kannada district, resulting in extensive damage, MP Chouta urged the district administration to conduct a study and submit an immediate report to state authorities for necessary action. He also called upon the district in-charge minister to request significant compensation from state government resources for the affected areas.
Chouta emphasised the need for proactive solutions rather than mere observations at disaster sites by officials. He suggested submitting proposals for NDRF fund releases from central government resources where needed, rather than making allegations about withheld funds. He also mentioned past instances where relief was directly provided by the BJP government from state resources during natural disasters, without solely relying on central NDRF funds for assistance.