By 2030, 50% of state’s population will be in cities; roads not safe for pedestrians’
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addresses a press conference in Shimoga on Wednesday.
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has observed that by 2030, more than 50% of the state’s population is expected to live in urban areas, making urban development much more challenging. He was speaking after inaugurating a one-day workshop on Sustainable transport: An Indo-Swedish Perspective, here on Monday.
Mr. Siddaramaiah observed that there must be serious thought put into solving the Bengaluru traffic problem. "The fact is that city roads are not safe for both pedestrians as well as cyclists. We need to make adopt modern technology to improve the traffic and transport, “ he said.
He observed that the state government was eager to exchange ideas and technology over smart development of the city with the help of Sweden. "There is an urgent need to improve the facilities in the urban areas of the city to ease the pressure on available infrastructure as the urban population is expected to grow to an unprecedented volume," he said.
He also rued the fact that increasing pollution levels have brought down the quality of life in the urban areas, which is the biggest concern. Chief guest of the programme and state urban development minister Mr.Vinay Kumar Sorake announced that soon the state government will appoint a commissioner to look after the master plan- related issues.
"Out of 235 Urban Local Bodies, 135 have already finalized their Master Plans keeping in view the next 25 years of development," he said. State transport minister Mr. Ramalinga Reddy informed that all the public transport corporations are pioneers in the implementation of new technology to improve service conditions.
Pilot project stopped
In his presentation on the use of bio gas produced by waste water, BWSSB’s Mr. Anjum Parvez informed that as per a Memorandum of Understanding with Swedish Gas Association (SGA) in 2010, the Swedish government is supposed to fund research on the use of bio gas in Volvo buses. But the MoU was sent to IISc for vetting. "Till now we have not received any update on the status of the MoU," he said.
New record in the collection
The inauguration programme was followed by presentation by various civic agencies of the city, including BWSSB, BMTC, BTP, KSRTC, BMRCL and DULT. In his presentation, ACP (Traffic-East) Mr. S.A Pasha informed that over 52 lakh vehicles in the city are monitored with the help of just 3,150 traffic police and officials."Every day 500 to 700 vehicles are registered in the city, making Bengaluru one of the most congested cities in the country,” he said. In his presentation, Mr. Pasha informed that in between January and August 2014, as many as 3,439 road accidents were reported in the city. 488 persons died while 2,732 persons were injured. Till now Rs.42.75 crore has been collected through fines.
No Boos Please
Chief Minister Mr Siddaramaiah has expressed confidence that he will not face booing by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi's supporters when he will share the dais with him at Tumkur on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters after the programme, Mr. Siddaramaiah confirmed that he was taking part in the Prime Minister's programme and was sure he would not face the kind of embarrassment his counterparts in Maharashtra and Haryana had to endure.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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