Prime Minister Narendra Modi, laying the foundation for a slew of mobility projects, sent out a political message as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) elections are nearing. He hit out at the Opposition parties saying that both the State and central governments had now taken up the projects that were “not moving” for 40 years.
Prominent among the projects that received a fillip were the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) and Bengaluru Satellite Town Ring Road Project. The suburban rail project is a decades-old project. A joint venture of the State government and Railway Board , KRIDE (Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd.) is implementing the 148 km project. In the first phase, the KRIDE has taken up Baiyappanahalli to Chikkabanavara corridor for implementation. A deadline of six years has been fixed to complete all the four corridors.
Rail activist Sanjeev Dyamannavar said the Prime Minister laying the foundation is a much needed push for the project. “Barring CBD areas such as Majestic to Cantonment, Majestic towards Yeshwantpur and others , implementing the suburban rail project is unlikely to create much hurdle. A majority of the land required for the project is already available for the project. All that is required is regular monitoring of the project at the highest level and clearing bureaucratic hurdles. Meanwhile, KRIDE should take necessary steps to float tenders of other corridors,” he said.
Mr. Modi also laid the foundation for a highway project that is part of the Bengaluru Satellite Town Ring Road Project (STTR). The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is implementing the project, will build a road from Hoskote to the Tamil Nadu border. The authority has already taken up the construction work from Dabaspet to Hoskote for a stretch of 87 km, an official said.
The total length of the STTR project is 280 km and connects important towns such as Dobbspet, Doddaballapur, Devenahall, Hoskote, Anekal, Ramanagaram, and Magadi.
A senior official of the NHAI said: “The project is aimed at decongesting the traffic in the city limits as more than eight National and State highways pass through Bengaluru. Once the STTR projects get implemented, motorists will be able to reach destinations without hitting city roads. This will help reduce congestion to a great extent. “
Besides these two big projects, the Prime Minister also inaugurated a number of railway and road projects.
