KARIMNAGAR: With expectation that there will be generous allocation for the Manair River Front (MRF) in the next budget, prices of the lands around it have steadily been appreciating. One year ago, 121 sq yards of land cost about Rs 5 lakh, but now the cost of the same land has shot up to Rs 15 lakh.
In 2017-18, the State government announced Rs 506 crore for the river front, of which Rs 193 crore was allocated but has not yet been released. However, a part of the river front project - the cable stayed bridge, has been completed, but due to lack of approach roads it has remained a non-starter. Meanwhile, about five check dam works of up to 9 km length are being constructed on a war footing, so that the river front is filled with water for all 365 days of a year.
The State government is looking to develop Karimnagar as a world-class tourism hub as part of which they have taken up the development of MRF on the shores of Lower Manair Dam. The project is touted to be on par with the Sabarmati River Front in Gujarat.
The then Finance Minister Eatala Rajender, Karimnagar MP B Vinod Kumar and legislator Gangula Kamalakar had visited the Sabharmati River Front in Gujarat, with an intention to replicate the model.
BC Welfare Minister Gangula Kamalakar, speaking about the project, said CM K Chandrasekhar Rao had shown a lot of interest in the MRF project, and hence a high-budget allocation was expected for it.
In light of the upcoming project, farmers around the area sold their lands to realtors. “We are expecting the area to become a tourism hub, and so many builders are constructing hotels and parks,” GN Reddy a developer, told ‘Express.’