Mangaluru’s underground power cable project will be implemented at a cost of ₹166 crore, Karnataka minister and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister U.T. Khader said at a Kannada Rajyotsava programme in the city on Sunday. He also warned that the district should prepare for possible drinking-water shortages and rising heat in the coming months.
Khader made the statements after hoisting the national flag at the district administration’s Kannada Rajyotsava event at Nehru Maidan in Mangaluru. He said the region had not received adequate rainfall this year and could face drinking-water difficulties as early as January, along with increased heat.
“This year, the rains have not come properly. There are signs of a drinking-water problem in January itself and an increase in the intensity of heat. We must be prepared to face the effects of climate variation,” Khader said, according to Prajavani.
The minister did not provide a construction schedule, implementation agency or details of the routes to be covered by the underground cabling plan. The announcement places the project among the city’s proposed civic infrastructure works, but the available report does not specify whether tenders have been issued or when work is expected to begin.
Khader also said applicants who had applied for Below Poverty Line ration cards would receive the cards soon. He announced that the Ullal taluk hospital would be started at the Mudipu centre, without giving a construction or operational timeline.
The minister’s remarks connected the city’s infrastructure agenda with the district’s preparedness for weather-related stress. However, the report does not include rainfall measurements, reservoir levels, municipal water-supply data or a formal drought-management plan. The warning therefore remains an official call for preparedness rather than a description of an officially declared drought condition.
At the event, Khader also called for Kannada to have a respected place in homes, schools, administration and technology, while saying that language pride should not mean excluding other languages. He congratulated Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar over the reported recognition of Tulu as the state’s second administrative language.
Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chouta, legislators Vedavyas Kamath, Deputy Commissioner Darshan H.V., Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Vinayak Karbhari, Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudhir Kumar Reddy, Superintendent of Police K. Arun and Mangaluru City Corporation Commissioner Rahul Rathnam Pandey attended the programme. Fifty-four organisations and 120 individuals were felicitated for achievements in different fields. The report did not specify the next administrative milestone for the underground cabling project or the Mudipu hospital.
