Karnataka - Mysore   

Industry pins hopes on six-lane expressway

By Laiqh A. Khan

MYSORE, JAN. 8. With the fate of the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project hanging in balance, the industry in Mysore is hoping that the six-lane expressway, which promises to cut down the travel time to Bangalore to 90 minutes, is not sacrificed at the altar of the controversial townships envisaged under the project.

The Chairman of Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association's (KASSIA), Mysore Zone, Suresh Kumar Jain, told The Hindu that the industry in Mysore is pinning hopes on a fast-track road link with Bangalore to shore up its business prospects.

"A dead-end for the expressway project will be detrimental to the prospects of industry in Mysore region which has begun to look up after a long hiatus," he said.

Widened highway

Though the hardships of people travelling between the two cities will be mitigated by a widened highway, a fast - track road promises all-round industrial growth for Mysore.

"The industry is more or less unanimous in its preference for a fast-track link with Bangalore. The fast-track road will also be used for transportation and delivery of goods and components to destinations in Bangalore in quick time. The industry is even willing to pay toll for the road," Mr Jain said.

Mr Jain, who is also general secretary of Hebbal Industrialists Association, Mysore, said there are more than 1,000 operational industries in a single belt of 4,310 acres in Mysore.

He said that the proposed townships envisaged under the project do not portend any spin-offs benefits for either the industry or tourism sectors. "The controversial townships have become the bone of contention now. The industry in Mysore would neither stand to gain nor lose from the townships."

It may be mentioned here that the State Cabinet recently decided to redeem 2,450 acres of "excess land" and look afresh at the proposed townships under the BMIC project, which forced the promoters — Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise — to declare that the project will become financially unviable without townships.

`Rail link better'

Meanwhile, Major General (Retd.) Sudhir G. Vombatkere, a qualified structural engineer, said the BMIC might provide a fast link only till the outskirts of the two cities. Referring to the Mumbai-Pune expressway, Maj. Gen. Vombatkere said that travel to the city centre, after reaching the outskirts, will be the customary crawl as in Mumbai and Pune.

"Similar conditions apply in Mysore-Bangalore context", he said.

"This is not true with the railways, which takes one directly to the City centre in the same time or less than that the expressway takes between the periphery of the cities", he said.

Maj. Gen. Vombatkere said that the doubling and electrification of the railway track between Mysore and Bangalore is a better recipe for fast and safe link between the two cities. Besides, train not only reduces air pollution, but also brings down the oil import bill considerably, he says.

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