Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Feb 3: There are some positive points for coastal Karnataka in the union budget. One of the proposals is to have government medical college for every district having district government hospitals.
If the above proposal comes through, the long-pending demand for a government medical college will be a reality in the city.
The demand, mainly from coastal Karnataka, made to provide mobile phones to Anganwadi workers by the government, has now been upheld. As per the budget, six lac Anganwadi workers will get smart phones.
Mangaluru city
There is even the possibility of the public-private partnership Kissan Rail meant for transportation of agricultural produce passing through the coast.
In the previous budget, separate ministry for fisheries had been mooted. This time, 'Sagar Mitra' scheme has been proposed. This scheme is expected to give a boost to fisheries, one of the main occupations in coastal Karnataka.
The budget has announced some financial support to certain schemes. There are no specific gifts to the coastal region here even in railway department. The government has announced about its ambitious plan of increasing fish catches to 200 lac metric tonnes by 2023 even though there is no clear indication how this will be achieved and what programmes the government will implement to achieve this. However, amid talk of fish famine, this aspect has kindled some hope in the fishermen.
The budget speaks of completing Bengaluru-Chennai express corridor highway project within a year. As an extension of this project, economists say, Bengaluru-Manglauru express corridor project will also be implemented. There is possibility of Sagarmala and port connectivity plans being executed. This budget has proposal to establish connectivity between inland ports and the coast.
The budget does not specify where it will run the passenger trains being started with private partnership. It need not come as a surprise if Shatabdi train is introduced between the city and Bengaluru.