D. Manjunathaiah, Commissioner, Udupi City Municipal Council, said on Tuesday that two Indira canteens, providing food at subsidised rates, would be opened here.
Replying to a query at the general body meeting of the council here, Mr. Manjunathaiah said that one canteen would come up near the Flower Market in Udupi, while the other one would come up near Tiger Circle in Manipal.
The Assistant Commissioner had already visited both areas to identify the spots for the canteen. As per norms, the canteens had to come up in areas that saw a higher flow of people. Hence, these two places were chosen, he said.
Malpe beach works
Prashanth Amin, councillor, criticised the Malpe Development Committee (MDC) for not taking the local councillors into confidence while implementing works at Malpe beach.
He criticised Mr. Manjunathaiah and the council president Meenakshi Bannanje for not taking up these matters with the Deputy Commissioner of Udupi district, Priyanka Mary Francis, who is also the chairman of the MDC.
Intervening, Ms. Bannanje said that she had enjoyed as much power as Mr. Amin in the MDC.
Instead of blaming her, he could have taken up the matter himself, she said.
Mr. Manjunathaiah said that the issues connected to the Deputy Commissioner could not be discussed at the meeting.
This in turn led to a heated exchange between Mr. Amin and Mr. Manjunathaiah.
Bridge widening
Yashpal Suvarna, councillor, wanted to know if the council had sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the National Highways Department for the widening of the Kalsank Bridge as it was now part of Malpe-Tirthahalli National Highway 169A.
Mr. Manjunathaiah explained that the bridge was being widened so that vehicles could reach Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple and Rajangana parking space easily. Presently, the bridge was narrow and resulted in blocking of vehicles.
The widening was not being done in the area of NH 169A. Only an approach road connected to the bridge was being widened. However, a NOC would be taken from the department, he said.