Karnataka CM Skips Inauguration Of Shivamogga Hanging Bridge Amid Credit Row

Bengaluru, July 14: The credit war between ruling Congress and the Union government has resulted in the Karnataka Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues and even the local legislators from staying away from the inauguration of India's second longest hanging bridge, which would cut the distance significantly to pilgrimage center Sigandur in Shivamogga district.

On Monday, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the bridge, which was an all BJP function. Two controversies made the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress members abstain from the program. First, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry postponed inauguration multiple times, trying to get a date of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the bridge. Secondly, there was a controversy over naming the bridge. While most of the people wanted it to be named after the local deity Sigandur Chowdeshwari, a local BJP leader went to the court, seeking to name the bridge after former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who worked hard to get the project through. By the time the BJP leaders realised that the Prime Minister's date was not possible and invited Siddaramaiah, he excused himself saying that he had a prior program in Vijayapura district.

The bridge between Kasavalli and Ambargondlu is around 2.44 kilometers over the Sharavathi backwater, which was built by the Union Ministry at a cost of Rs 473 crore. Apart from the pilgrims, the bridge was much awaited by the locals, who had to travel over 100 kms to reach the other side of the back waters.

Reacting about his absence during the program, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that it would be more appropriate for the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry to consult the State governments before scheduling such programs.

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"I had called Nitin Gadkari and asked him to postpone the program. He assured me to postpone it. But now, due to pressure from the local BJP leaders, they are going ahead with the event. I have not received any invitation. We always extended our  cooperation to railway projects. They invite us for those programs. But here, protocol has been violated. As a mark of protest, none of us are participating in the program. The Congress MLAs from the region, the District Minister and the Minister for Public Works are staying away. They deliberately created a rift between State and Central governments,'' he said.

However, Karnataka Opposition Leader R Ashok said that the Congress was just worried about the credit of the bridge and nothing else. ``They can not tolerate what BJP has done in such a quick span of time, which they could not do in the last 60 years. The demand for a bridge was always there and the Congress, which was in power for so many years, did not do anything. Siddarmaiah is trying to find fault to divert the attention,'' he said.