Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has put the blame squarely on the previous government for the pathetic state of roads in Bangalore city.
He was speaking after launching several road-related projects, including an underpass at Magadi Road and Siddaiah Puranik Road junction and a grade separator at Chord Road, here on Saturday. “Once these projects are taken up and completed, the cityscape will be different. We need roads that will last long. Wherever possible, the main roads will be concreted. With lots of investment coming to Bangalore, we must ensure that the city retains its old glory,” he said.
Prominent among the development projects launched is the work on improving 400-km stretch of 230 arterial roads at a cost of Rs. 560 crore, development of important roads under TenderSure at a cost of Rs. 130 crore and construction of five signal-free corridors at a cost of Rs. 613 crore.
The development of 400-km stretch of arterial roads would be taken up by the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd. (formerly called the Karnataka Land Army).
The Chief Minister set a six-month deadline for the BBMP to address the garbage problem in the city. Commenting on the Akrama-Sakrama scheme, he said that the revenue that would be generated by it should go into a separate account to be used for city’s development.
Bangalore South MP Ananth Kumar urged Mr. Siddaramaiah to take an all-party delegation to New Delhi to discuss with the Prime Minister and Union Ministers matters regarding the city’s development. He added that the Binny Mill land should be transferred to the Railways so that it can be used for the expansion of the city railway station. He suggested that the railway station be named after freedom fighter Sangolli Rayanna.
Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana, MLAs Priya Krishna and K. Gopalaiah spoke.
