Mangaluru: SDPI has sought a minimum Rs 10,000-crore allocation for eco-friendly coastal tourism, including the development of beaches, heritage sites and nature-based tourism destinations, ahead of the special cabinet meeting scheduled in Mangaluru Friday.The party urged the state govt to use the meeting to announce a comprehensive development package for coastal Karnataka, focusing on infrastructure, tourism, employment, healthcare and local livelihoods.Addressing a press conference Tuesday, Ashraf Addur, district president, Mangaluru City, and Anwar Sadath Bajathoor, district president, Mangaluru Rural, welcomed the decision to hold the cabinet meeting outside Bengaluru, but said it should not be a “mere formality”.Among the party’s major demands are a coastal corridor road from Ullal to Karwar, four-lane connectivity to Mangaluru International Airport from Manipal, Mangaluru and BC Road, and a metro rail system for Mangaluru and surrounding areas. It also sought Rs 1,000 crore for the Coastal Development Board and permanent funding in the state budget.SDPI demanded an IT park in Mangaluru and industrial zones across the three coastal districts, with employment opportunities for locals. It also sought units of Jayadeva Heart Hospital and Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Dakshina Kannada or Udupi, and urged the govt to consider creating a separate Puttur district.Other demands include an arecanut research centre and support prices for growers, incentives for paddy cultivation, distribution of red rice through fair-price shops, and a simplified mining policy to ensure adequate local availability of sand and laterite stone.The party also sought a Beary Development Corporation, expedited construction of Haj Bhavan and arrangements for Haj flights from Mangaluru International Airport.It demanded completion of the veterinary and fisheries university project at Koila in Kadaba, water transport projects including water metro services, speedy disposal of pending 94C and 94CC cases, and stronger measures against drug trafficking.
