The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Work on Rs. 100-crore Jalahalli Circle flyover to start in August

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 12, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Work on Rs. 100-crore Jalahalli Circle flyover to start in August

Staff Reporter

It will be completed within a year, says Chief Minister Kumaraswamy

H.D. Kumaraswamy

BANGALORE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has set another deadline. He announced on Thursday that work on the Jalahalli Circle flyover will commence in August and be completed within a year.

The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) has proposed the construction of the flyover on Tumkur Road in its budget and has allocated Rs. 10 crore for it.

After inspecting the area, Mr. Kumaraswamy told presspersons that he was taking a personal interest in the project because he knew people faced hardships as they passed through the road every day. "More than 6,000 vehicles pass through Jalahalli Circle every hour. The traffic situation is bad," he said and added that the flyover would be designed in such a way that it would be able to meet the traffic volume 30 years hence. The Chief Minister said the BMP and the National Highways Authority of India would take up the work. BMP engineers said they planned to make Jalahalli Circle signal-free by constructing the flyover. They added that the flyover would possibly pass over both Dasarahalli Circle and Jalahalli Circle.

The proposed multi-tier flyover with underpasses is estimated to cost Rs. 100 crore. Apart from constructing the flyover, BMP is also proposing increasing the road width to make it six-lane. "There is no point clearing the traffic at Jalahalli Circle and then causing a bottleneck at Dasarahalli Circle. A comprehensive solution is being looked at," said a BMP engineer.

Mr. Kumaraswamy was accompanied by Minister for Health R. Ashok, who admitted to facing problems every time he crossed Tumkur Road. "It took me almost two hours to cross Tumkur Road on Wednesday. It is really a problem area," he said. A sentiment surely echoed by most persons who have to drive on that stretch every working day.

Lakshmi Venkatachalam, Principal Secretary, Urban Development, Mumtaz Begum, Mayor, and K. Jairaj, BMP Commissioner, were present.

The Chief Minister also listened to some personal grievances of the residents.

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