Shivamogga (Karnataka) [India], July 15 (ANI): Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated India's second-longest cable-stayed bridge located in Karnataka on Monday.

The six-kilometre-long Sharavathi Bridge has been built at Rs 472 crore and aims to enhance regional connectivity and boost mobility across the Malnad region, the Union Minister said in a post on X.

'Inaugurated India's second-longest cable-stayed bridge--the 6-km-long Sharavathi Bridge in Karnataka--built at a cost of Rs 472 crore to enhance regional connectivity and boost mobility across the Malnad region,' read Gadkari's post.

https://x.com/nitin_gadkari/status/1944710448236109968

The Union minister was accompanied by former Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa, Shivamogga MP BY Raghavendra, Karnataka MLA and BJP state president BY Vijayendra and other leaders.

Notably, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party for organising the event, saying that he had requested to postpone the inauguration as he had a prior commitment.

In protest of CM Siddaramaiah not being present at the event, no state ministers or MLAs of Congress were present at the event. The CM said that the event was originally agreed to be postponed, but a local BJP leader 'succumbed to pressure' and organised it anyway.

'The program scheduled in Sagar taluk was requested to be postponed through a phone call and a letter written to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. Although the Union Minister had agreed to postpone the program, local BJP leaders succumbed to pressure and organised the program today without bringing it to my attention. Due to pre-scheduled commitments, I have to travel to Vijayapur district, making it impossible for me to attend the program in Sagar taluk,' the Chief Minister said in a post on X.

Citing the non-adherence to protocol, the CM reaffirmed the role of the state government in centrally sponsored projects.

'In protest of this move by the BJP, no government ministers or local MLAs are participating in the program. It is the central government that has initiated this conflict between us. There has been no adherence to protocol here. State governments also have a role in centrally sponsored projects. In such cases, the state government strictly adheres to all protocols. For today's program, neither I, nor the concerned departmental ministers, nor the local MLAs have been properly invited,' his post added.

Apart from the bridge, Gadkari also laid the foundation stone for nine National Highway projects spanning 99 kilometres and worth more than Rs 2,000 crore in Karnataka, according to an official press release by MoRTH.

The statement by the ministry said that the widening of the 47-kilometre-long Bidar-Humnabad section of NH-367 will substantially reduce travel time between the districts of Kalaburagi and Bidar. Restoration works undertaken in the Shiradi Ghat stretch of NH-75 are expected to ensure safe and uninterrupted traffic movement during the monsoon season, particularly along the vital Mangaluru-Bengaluru corridor.

Minister Gadkari also went to pay a visit to the Sri Sigandur Chowdeshwari Ji Temple in Shivamogga. He was accompanied by Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi and BS Yediyurappa. (ANI)