'New court complex to be ready by year-end'

January 3, 2012

Mangalore, January 3: Public Works Department Minister C M Udasi, who inspected the construction work of the new court complex in the city on Monday, said that the building would be ready by the end of this year.

Speaking to media persons the Minister said that the furnishing work would be completed soon after the civil work was over, in order to avoid any further delay in the completion of the complex, which had already missed a few deadlines.

He said the process of buying furniture has already begun for Rs 25 crore and another Rs 5 crore could be spent on furnishing the complex”.

Informing about the progress of various developmental works in the district, he said that Rs 47 crore has been released for repairing 1300 km State Highways and main roads in Dakshina Kannada district.

The work of State Highways is nearing completion and the repair work of the district roads is in progress with 48 percent of the work completed so far. New court complexes are under construction in Mangalore, Moodbidri and Bantwal and they are being built at a cost of Rs 32 crore.

The construction work of the new Circuit House in Mangalore at a cost of Rs 30 crore will be completed by April, Udasi said.

“The phase II and III work of Mangalore Mini Vidhan Soudha will be started at the earliest. The government has approved 69 different developmental work in the district at a cost of Rs 72 crore. Under the same project 160 km road will be developed.

Action will be taken to initiate 166.91 km road under State Highway Development Project. The government has approved for undertaking the project in the district at a cost of Rs 59.91 crore,” informed Udasi.

In order to develop concrete roads in SC/ ST colonies, the work worth Rs five crore will be taken up.

The minister also said that the phase I work (Rs 60 crore) of the Kukke Subrahmanya temple, which has already began would be completed by May 2012. The tender for the phase II work to be undertaken at a cost of Rs 60 crore too has been floated in November 2011, he said.

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Mangaluru–Kasaragod bus fare rolled back after Kerala protests force NHAI to shut Arikkady toll plaza

coastaldigest.com news network

February 5,2026

Mangaluru: The KSRTC Mangaluru division has rolled back the fare hike on buses operating on the Mangaluru–Kasaragod route following the suspension of toll collection at the Arikkady toll plaza near Kumbala in Kasaragod district.

The fare revision had been implemented after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) began toll collection at the Arikkady plaza on NH-66. As a result, fares for ordinary and Rajahamsa services were increased by ₹7 and ₹10, respectively, raising the bus fare from Mangaluru to Kasaragod from ₹81 to ₹88.

Senior Divisional Controller of KSRTC’s Mangaluru division, Rajesh Shetty, said the fares were reduced after toll collection at the Arikkady plaza was stopped. “The tollgate began operations on January 13, and the toll amount was deducted from the FASTag accounts of KSRTC buses operating on the route. Following an order from the central government to suspend toll collection, KSRTC has also withdrawn the additional fare with immediate effect,” he said.

At present, vehicles travelling on the Mangaluru–Kasaragod route pay toll only at the Talapady toll plaza. The toll for light motor vehicles (LMVs) at Talapady is ₹80 for a same-day return, while heavy vehicles, including buses, are charged ₹250. At Arikkady, the toll rates were ₹130 for LMVs (same-day return) and ₹450 for buses.

Protests against Arikkady toll plaza

The Arikkady toll plaza witnessed widespread protests from January 12, the day toll collection commenced. On the second day, an action committee led by Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf launched an indefinite protest at the site. Except for the BJP, leaders and workers of most major political parties participated in the agitation.

On the night of January 14, a large number of protesters gathered at the plaza and vandalised property, following which authorities temporarily suspended toll operations. The BJP later also expressed opposition to the toll plaza and criticised NHAI’s decision.

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