Industry, tourism can be leveraged

MANGALORE: It is the ‘Gateway to Karnataka’ — New Mangalore Port, beautiful stretches of Panambur and Tanir Bavi beaches, mega industries like the Tanir Bavi Power Company, Kudremukh Iron Ore Company and Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers, the historically acclaimed Nandaneshwara temple are a few landmarks that sketch Ward No. 11, Panambur.
The Arabian Sea laps one end and the Gurpur river flows on the other, giving the ward a pictorial and serene ambience.While on one side, the ward projects industrial development and high tourist potential, it masks the bitter ground reality that there are still many families in the ward who do not have ration cards, thanks to the apathy of the Corporation in providing title deeds and door numbers.
The ward is probably one of the biggest in the Greater Mangalore area which came into the Mangalore City Corporation fold only in 1997. Lack of basic amenities has always been a grouse over the years as a majority of the population comprises poor fishermen and daily wagers except for an affluent section in the New Mangalore Port Trust Colony.
The ward’s proximity to the sea causes different kinds of problems. While some areas are vulnerable to sea erosion, many others face the threat of frequent water-logging during the monsoon. The Under Ground Drainage system is non-existent and roads are rough. Overall, the lack of infrastructural amenities is the hallmark of this ward, despite efforts by corporator Prema Vasudev.
While paucity of funds worry her, efforts to woo mega industries including the Port for assistance to develop infrastructure has not yielded desirable results. With the monsoon, the problem turns severe in Tannirbavi and Meenakalia. Low-lying areas are inundated and flash floods hit the coast — a curse residents have learnt to face over the years. Not just during the rainy season, even a high tide is enough to wash away a few houses along the coastline.
Provision of proper storm drains would be a permanent and effective solution to the problem. However, a lot is yet to be done. A main drain linking Chenal to Kurikatta has been planned but with the estimate amounting to over Rs 50 lakhs, it is difficult to have the p roject approved, laments Prema. Some places in the ward belong to the New Mangalore Port
Trust and some to the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, and any development in these places leads to technical complications, she adds. However, she says storm drains have been dug in some places with the limited funds available.
A major issue that has bothered a sizable number of residents in Tanir Bavi and Meenakalia areas is that their houses do not have door numbers, as the district administration has withheld title deeds citing reasons of encroachment.
In the normal course, these houses have to be regularised as residents have stayed here for generations, the corporator argues, and blames the MLA and MP for the delay. With regularisation and provision of title deeds and door numbers, poor residents can avail of various facilities extended by the government. Now, they do not have even ration cards, she adds.
Enlisting the accomplishments during her tenure, Prema informed that pending work on the Padutheera road connecting Chenal to Kurikatta along the beach had already begun and is being taken up in phases. The road would do a world of good for the fisherfolk to transport their catch from the sea. Again, paucity of funds has delayed the project.
A notable development in the area is the formation of 23 Self Help Groups and the constitution of a Mahila Okkoota as a forum for poor women to become self-reliant. More developmental activity is expected, with the implementation of the ADB-assisted infrastructure development projects.
According to Prema, at least 300 applications have been received for the construction of individual toilets, while a sizable number of families below the poverty line have applied for the ‘yellow card’.
Tanir Bavi and Panambur beaches attract huge crowds throughout the year and there is a need to develop them to boost tourism. The two beaches have already been identified, and overall development is on the cards, she informed.