Chief Minister Siddaramaiah formally inaugurated the C.N.R. Rao underpass, near the Indian Institute of Science, here on Monday. The work has been completed after several deadlines were missed.
The carriageway connecting Malleswaram with Yeshwanthpur was thrown open to motorists in January. However, the carriageway connecting Malleswaram and Mehkri Circle was readied only recently.
Speaking after the inauguration, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that motorists had faced a lot of problems at the C.N.R. Rao junction. With the completion of the underpass, motorists commuting to Malleswaram, Mekhri Circle and Yeshwanthpur from different parts of the city would benefit.
“The work was scheduled to begin in 2008, but was delayed to a great extent. However, I am glad the project was completed during my term,” he said. The project, which was taken up at a cost of Rs. 30 crore, finally began in January 2010 and was to be completed in 18 months. However, it was not completed before the deadline.
Mr. Siddaramaiah inspected the underpass in October 2013 after which he instructed the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to complete the work by December. When the December deadline was also missed, a new deadline of March 2014 was set.
It may be mentioned here BBMP had attributed the delays to labour problems and internal conflict between the two contractors — Madhava Hytech and East Coast Constructions and Industries Ltd. (ECCI).
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana and BBMP Commissioner M. Lakshminarayana were present at the inauguration.
