Rahul Gandhi personally spoke to me; there are better opportunities in Congress: Mithun Rai

Mangaluru, Jan 31: The Pumpwell flyover, part of the four-laning of Talapady-Kundapura stretch of National Highway 66, was finally inaugurated today.

Work on four-laning NH 66 between Talapady-Kundapur, excluding the Nanthoor-NITK Surathkal stretch, started in September 2010 and Pumpwell (Mahaveera Circle) flyover was a part of the project. Concessionnaire M/s Navayuga Udupi Tollway Pvt., Ltd., failed to execute many flyovers on the stretch within the prescribed time, including Thokkottu and Pumpwell in Mangaluru, Karavali Circle in Udupi, and Shasri Circle in Kundapur.

Thokkottu and Karavali Circle flyovers are complete now while Shastri Circle flyover as well as the four-lane road within Kundapur town are still incomplete. Similarly, a small bridge and portion of the road in Padubidri too is yet to be completed.

District in-charge minister Kota Srinivas Pojjary and MP Nalin Kumar Kateel inaugurated the long-pending Flyover

MLA Vedavayas Kamath, MLA Bharath Shetty were also present on the occasion.

New Delhi, Mar 19: Senior Congress leader Oscar Fernandes on Wednesday extolled the virtues of 'gaumutra' and shared an anecdote about a man claiming to have cured his cancer by drinking cow urine to drive his point home.

Participating in a debate in Rajya Sabha on two bills for setting up national commissions for homoeopathy and Indian systems of medicine, the former Union minister said, "My extreme friend Jairam Ramesh pulls my leg, when I talk of 'gaumutra'."

Sharing an anecdote, Fernandes said once during a visit to an ashram near Meerut he had met a person who claimed to have cured his cancer by drinking 'gaumutra'.

Many BJP leaders have earlier spoken about the healing power of 'gaumutra'. The Congress has reacted sharply to such remarks.

He also praised the virtues of the Indian systems of medicine. He said when he had severe pain in knee joint and doctors had suggested for replacement surgery. However, he refused and started doing 'Vajrasana'.

"I started Vajrasana, practising yoga, and today I am able to do wrestling without any difficulty," the septuagenarian leader said.

"When (former) prime minister (Atal Bihari) Vajypee ji had a knee surgery, I thought if I had known him earlier, I would have definitely gone to him and ask him to follow 'Vajrasan' and it could have been cured," he said.

He also claimed to have met a person in US aged around 104 years and moving swiftly as a young man.

"Yoga is our wealth. If you practise yoga, may be our budget cost of health can be reduced by 50 per cent. It's way of life," he said.

"Our own Indian systems of medicine will provide a lot of reliefs even before going to a doctor," he said.

Though Fernandes supported the bills but raised objection over the exclusion of yoga and naturopathy.

"I would urge the minister either to amend the bill or bring an assurance that it will bring a separate legislation to cover yoga and naturopathy," he said.

Udupi, Jul 21: Udupi Court complex has been sealed down for two days for sanitisation after a judge tested positive for Covid-19, a source said on Tuesday.

The Covid cases in Udupi district which had reduced recently are once again seeing a spurt. On Monday, as many as 98 have tested positive taking the total cases in the district to 2,321.