Architecture students to help Saligrama by their project

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Aug 08, 2014:  Manipal University  B.Arch students have chosen Saligrama town in the outskirts of Udupi for planning and urban design project.  The fourth year students of Bachelor of Architecture have taken up a project that will not only serve their purpose of getting exposure to field experience, but also will help them do their duty for the society.  The project which will last  4 to 5 months and will be designed considering the opinions of local people. The students organised a public meeting at Saligrama last week to collect opinions of people, to make an effective project proposal.


In the meeting, chaired by Saligrama Town Panchayat Chief Officer Gopalakrishna Shetty, over 65 people participated including, municipal officers, vehicle union president, civil engineers, housewives, farmers, retired headmaster and members of a women’s self-help group.  The students showed a presentation based on their field study and questionnaire survey of 100 households within one km radius of the Central Market area. These were conducted upon previous visits to Saligrama and gave an understanding of the problems faced by town dwellers. This was followed by a group discussion, mediated by three students each for a group of eight people.

A range of issues faced by the people of the town due to improper town planning was discussed.  This ranged from a hospital and college for higher education, to public toilets, an express bus stop and a safe pedestrian path across the highway. It also substantiated some of the earlier observations of requiring a local police outpost and street-lighting along interior roads, while also guiding them in what manner to address these and other issues.

The project will be carried out under the guidance of department professors Vinod Aranha, Iswaraya and Sanam, stated a press release