The Hindu : Agencies renew commitment to city's progress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 01, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Agencies renew commitment to city's progress

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, JAN. 31. A "Tech. Corridor", a peripheral road, more flyovers, grade separators, and multi-storey car-parking lots, KaverEcom kiosks for multi-utility bill payment, more sewage treatment plants, a paper-less water board. All these and many more commitments were spelt out at the Sixth Summit of the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) on Saturday.

The heads of the seven stakeholders of the BATF presented their accomplishments in the past year and set targets for the next six months. The new goals were made public in the presence of the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, through attractive audio-visual documentaries.

Bangalore Development Authority

In a presentation of projects of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), the Commissioner of the authority, Jayakar Jerome, said flyovers at Dairy Circle near the Jayadeva Hospital and on Airport Road would be completed. Over 20,000 sites would be allotted in Arkavathy Layout, and the road from K.R. Puram to the ITPL improved. The work on the Rs. 550-crore Peripheral Road would start in March, he added.

He said land acquisition for the Tech. Corridor and construction of an 8.5-km. link road between Outer Ring Road and Electronics City were under way. The design for the project would be finalised by February-end, tenders would be called in April, and work would begin by June.

Bangalore Mahanagara Palike

Unveiling the programmes of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), its Commissioner, M.R. Sreenivasa Murthy, said asphalting of 1,000 km. of roads and widening of narrow roads would be taken up. The roads included Avenue Road, A.S. Street, Gandhinagar Main Road, Mission Road, Hospital Road, Meenakshi Koil Street, and Commercial Street.

Mr. Murthy said railway over-bridges at Lingarajpuram, Banaswadi, and ITC factory, flyovers at National College and Minerva Circle, grade separators on Chord Road junction and South End Circle, and dedicated bus lanes would be constructed.

The BMP also planned to build multi-storey car parking lots at Magarath Road, Kempegowda Road, and J.C. Road, and mechanised parking facility at more than 10 places including Gandhinagar and Dispensary Road (where the facility would be for cars). As many as 300 bus shelters and 50 bus bays would be readied, Mr. Murthy said.

He said 200 km. of "world class" sidewalks, 11 pedestrian subways at Sujatha junction, N.R. Square, and M.G. Road, over-bridges for pedestrians at Mysore Bank Square, near the ISKCON Temple, and on Bellary Road and C.V. Raman Road would be constructed. Road-sweeping machines would be purchased, he added. Mr. Murthy said sanitary landfills would come up at Kanahalli and Kyalasanahalli.

As part of the BMP's health programmes, the Healthy City Project would be implemented. Preventive health programmes for urban poor would be taken up, and clinical facilities at 23 maternity homes and six referral hospitals upgraded. Construction of two stadiums at Brindavan Nagar and Basaveshwaranagar, 150 playgrounds, 20 public toilets, and five crematoria are among the BMP's major projects. Mr. Murthy said programmes for the conservation of Kempegowda Towers and remodelling of the K.R. Market and Town Hall would be taken up. He announced a special package for improving underdeveloped wards such as Kaval Byrasandra, Devarajeevanahalli, and Kadugondanahalli and infrastructure in 50 rehabilitated slums. Computer centres would be opened in all BMP schools, he added.

Water board

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board would commission seven sewage treatment plants under the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme Stage-IV, Phase I, and eight intermediate sewage-pumping stations, according to its Chairman, M.N. Vidyashankar.

He said completion of projects under the National River Conservation plan, underground drainage works, and an intermediate sewage pumping station at Murugeshpalya was envisaged. The sewage treatment plant at the K&C (Koramangala and Chalaghatta) Valley would be revived and its capacity, which was now 163 million litres per day (MLD), augmented by 55 MLD. Water supply works, distribution network, and a feeder main network in the areas under the seven city municipal councils and one town municipal council around Bangalore were planned.

Mr. Vidyashankar said 20 additional multi-utility bill payment KaverEcom kiosks would be set up and 40,000 new water-supply/sanitary connections given in areas which were included in the city limits a few years ago. A project to reduce leakage from water pipelines, a pilot project for a "paperless office", and integration of the revenue billing with the Geographic Information System were planned, he added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News Update

Stories in this Section

1,000 new buses to be introduced

Police to send progress report on cases

Agencies renew commitment to city's progress