Airport exit road will be ready for use in June: DC Ibrahim

MANGALURU: The much-touted exit road from Mangaluru International Airport at Kenjar is all set for completion. Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL) will complete the work by May-end and the road will be open to traffic in June, said deputy commissioner A B Ibrahim at a review meeting on Thursday.
A retaining wall will be constructed on one side of the road, he said, adding that to ensure quick completion, the authorities have been directed to shift the existing electricity poles and drinking water pipelines criss-crossing the road.He added that the road will be 1,125m long and 740m of this stretch will be concreted and the rest asphalted.
The earlier narrow exit road was closed for traffic in March 2013 to facilitate the expansion of the new road, and the widening work has been going on since then.
The tender process is on to construct an additional exit road to divert traffic during emergency, the DC said.
"At present, the entry road also doubles up as the exit road. The only problem is that the road is too narrow with several hairpin bends," he said.
The new road will be constructed at an approximate cost of Rs 1.90 crore, he said, adding that the new emergency exit road will be constructed from Maravoor gram panchayat to international airport.
Observing that 422 acres of land in Malavoor, Adyapady, Kolambe and Kenjar villages had been acquired to facilitate the construction of the airport, Dr D R Ashok, assistant commissioner, Mangaluru sub-division, said that 153 cases have been filed by land owners who lost land and they are seeking additional compensation.
The law department has directed the district administration to appeal against the decree in certain cases where such compensation has been granted. Ibrahim, however, stated: "Either the district administration should file an appeal in all cases (related to grant of compensation to the respective land losers) or not file an appeal at all."
He directed the assistant commissioner to send a proposal and act as per the directives issued. To extend the existing 8,000 ft long runway to 13,000 ft long, Ashok said that additional 48 acres of land is required. Noting that 23 acres of land is already in government's possession, Ashok said the survey work on the remaining 61 acres has already been completed.
The acquisition procedure of additional land will begin once the state cabinet clears the project, explained Ashok, adding that the land owners will be adequately compensated and rehabilitated.