Amidst speculation on his future as Chief Minister of Karnataka, B.S. Yediyurappa, who also holds the key portfolio of Bengaluru Development, inspected some of the roads and junctions taken up for development on Friday.
Every other road in the city, especially those in the Central Business District, have been dug up for ‘development work’. However, there may be some relief for motorists and pedestrians, as barring a few roads, work on many others will likely be completed by the year end.
Sitting by the window in a bus, the Chief Minister, accompanied by a few Ministers, conducted the inspection, only getting off to unveil the redeveloped Nayandahalli Junction on Mysuru Road, the ongoing work on the K-100 drain at Shanthinagar, and Subedar Chatram Road that has been whitetopped. He stopped for some refreshments at a restaurant in the developed Commercial Street.
Speaking to reporters after the inspection, he said the State government was committed to the city’s overall development, and that the roads once developed would last for at least 20 years. “The government is committed to making Bengaluru an international tourist destination. We hope to develop all roads, lakes, drains, and parks in the city. There is no paucity of funds for this,” he said, and added that ongoing work on many roads would be completed by year end.
Of the 36 roads being developed by Bengaluru Smart City Ltd. (BSCL), work on nine has been completed. The delay has been attributed to the outbreak of the pandemic, lack of manpower, and problems with utility shifting. Ten roads are reportedly in the final stages of completion, including Planetarium Road, Infantry Road, Dickenson Road, Ulsoor Road, Brigade Road, Palace Road, Raj Bhavan Road, and Kasturba Road.
Of the 29 roads taken up under TenderSURE over the past six years at ₹400 crore, work on 20 have been completed. These include Subedar Chatram Road, Dhanvantri Road, W.H. Hanumanthappa Road, Cottonpete Main Road, Vani Vilas Road, and roads in Gandhinagar. Similarly, of 69 roads measuring 147 km taken up for whitetopping over the past five years, 10 have been completed in the last 12 months. Work on Annaswamy Mudaliar Road, Bhaskaran Road, Thanisandra Road, Kodigehalli Main Road, and a few others are expected to be completed by October.
The Chief Minister unveiled the junction improvement at Nayandahalli on Mysuru Road. With the theme ‘Mysuru Dasara Dibba’, the junction has been improved at a cost of ₹6.3 crore, which includes beautification, whitetopping, and installation of the ‘Dasara Dibba’ statue. The installation that cost around ₹65 lakh has statues of three Dasara elephants, with one lead elephant carrying the golden howdah, and a mahout.
