Traffic piles up, Siddaramaiah flies into airport road mess

Bangalore: In a sign that the chief minister, long accused of neglecting the city, was finally focusing on restoring some of Bangalore's lost shine, Siddaramaiah inspected the partially elevated corridor to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) and promised that the entire stretch will be ready by the end of January, 13 months after it was due to be completed.

The five-kilometre long stretch from Kempapura near Esteem Mall to Venktala has been opened, while the stretch between Chikkajala and Huns­emaradahalli is nearing completion.

But the stretch between Bagalur ramp and Vidyanagar will be completed only by January end, said Siddaramaiah.

A bottleneck at Byatarayanapura will be cleared after holding a dialogue with temple authorities through Agriculture Minister Krishna Byregowda, he added.

The other major issue remains completing the section along the Yelahanka Air Base, which the chief minister promised he would expedite by speaking with Road Transport and Highway Minister Oscar Fernandes and Defence Minister A. K. Antony.

The Rs 580-crore project has been taken up on a Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) basis and was scheduled to have been done by November 2012.

Road to airport by Jan end: CM

Bangalore: Chief Minister Sidda­ram­aiah on Thursday assu­­red that the much delayed partially elevated corridor to Kem­pegowda Inter­nati­onal Airp­ort (KIA) will be ready by January end and it will help reduce the travel time to the airport.

Though the inspection of the corridor has been delayed by 13 months, the Chief Minister assured that he will hold talks with Union Minister for Road Transport and High­ways, Osc­ar Fernandes, and Defence Mini­ster A.K. Antony to ensure that the major portion of the project is completed by Jan­uary end.

“Bottlenecks on the corridor can be cleared after obtaining defence land. A meeting will be held with Antony in this regard, he said.

The five-kilometre stretch fro­m Kempapura near Esteem Mall to Venktala has been opened and the works at Chikkajala and Hunasam­aranahalli are almost complete. But the works on the Bagalur ramp and Vidyanagar stretch will be completed by the end of January, said Sidda­ramaiah.

However, the Bangalore Tourist Taxi Owners Associ­ation (BTTOA) General Secretary Radhakrishna Holla said it was highly illogical to collect toll even before the project got completed.

He also said that Rs 580-crore project has been taken up on Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) basis and was scheduled to have been over by November 2012.

But it has overshot several deadlines and it is doubtful whether it will get over by January-end, he added.

CM’s convoy leads to traffic logjam on busy KIA corridor

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s inspection of the elevated corridor leading to Kempegowda Interna­tional Airport (KIA) on Thursday threw the airport-bound traffic out of gear, leading to pile-ups and frayed tempers. Due to the movement of his convoy during peak hour, the traffic flow was halted at all the junctions on the busy KIA corridor.

The repair work at the Mekhri Circle underpass compounded the problem. Comm­uters were visibly upset as they were running out of time to either catch flights or reach their destinations.

Vinayak Joshi, who was stuck in a jam at the CBI junction, said the practice of taking up inspection by halting traffic movement during peak hours must be stopped. They must be carried out either during non-peak hours or on general holidays, he said.

“Halting traffic even for three minutes leads to pile-ups. Already, the roads are congested. Halting of the roads only will add to the frustration and inconvenience,” said K. Prabhakar, a private firm employee in Indiranagar.

However, airport authorities confirmed that all the flights departed as per the schedule.

As a practice the traffic police stop vehicular movement at least five to 10 minutes before the arrival of chief minister’s convoy.

In the past there have even been instances of motorists trying to breach the traffic clampdown to reach their destination.

Next: CM flays BBMP move to pledge Town Hall

CM flays BBMP move to pledge Town Hall

Bangalore: The decision of cash strapped BBMP to pledge Town Hall and Multi Level Parking lot on J. C. Road has been strongly criticised by Chief Min­ister Siddaramaiah.

He criticised the BBMP’s move to pledge Town Hall to raise Rs 200 crore and directed the BBMP commissioner M. Lakshminarayan to drop the proposal.

The BBMP has already pledged prime properties like KR Market, Jaya­nagar Market and Utility building on MG Road to financial institutions to restructure the borrowings.

It has borrowed a whopping Rs 3,900 crore from various financial institutions and is planning to go for an overdraft of Rs 200 crore from Canara bank.

A note prepared by the BBMP administration to obtain the BBMP council’s nod stated that the BBMP additional commissioner (Finance) and BBMP commissioner ha­ve consented to pledge prime properties and mo­ved the same to the council section.

It also stated that if the loans are availed, the BBMP can save about Rs 45 lakh per month by restru­cturing loans.

The note stated that the Canara Bank has agreed to pay loan at 11 per cent per annum, as against 14 per cent per annum for loans already availed.

The rest­ru­cturing or swapping will benefit the BBMP financially, the note said.