HIGHWAY 4-LANING WORKBEGINS AT MADDUR

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Maddur: Exasperated over waiting for the long-promised private sector Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor(BMIC), the Karnataka government on Monday launched a project to four lane existing state highway connecting the two cities. Chief Minister S. M.Krishna, inaugurating the project here, told the gathering:’’ We did everything required and waited eight to 10 years for the BMIC,but nothing has happened. So, with vehicle density on this road shooting up from 8000 in 1995 to 35000 in 2003 per day, I opted to ask the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) to bring the existing road to international standards.”

The first phase of the 320 Crore project was simultaneously launched at Uttarhalli, Ramanagaram, Channnapatna and Maddur. The 12 meters- wide state highway will be expanded to 21 meters and four laned, while the 52 curves on the road will be straightened out “as far as possible,” Krishna said. The government also plans to four-lane the road from Maddur to Mysore, but only after sufficient resources are raised to acquire land on either side, which is rich in sugarcane and paddy.

Krishna said the road builders were responsible for construction and maintenance for eight years. “I did not tell the contractors to take the project and give me some money. Instead, we called Global tenders and ensured they were responsible for the road till the end of the warranty period,” he maintained. Later, at a news conference, Krishna announced a fund of Rs.1.25 crore per assembly constituency for rural roads, to be allocated in the next budgets. This is in addition to a matching amount in the current year for each constituency.Krishna also inaugurated a 23 Crore drinking water project for Maddur town and 43 surrounding villages, a 30 lakh farmers market (raitha santhe) and a 30 lakh police housing project.

BMIC: Karnataka public works minister Dharam Singh told reporters that he would call a meeting with BMIC developers Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) and ask them for a “final decision” on the project.

Defends move: Krishna on Monday defended his decision to split the water resources ministry into two and said such “decentralization” was necessary for equitable development of the Krishna and Cauvery basins. He declined to respond to questions on agriculture minister H.K. Patil’s visit to New Delhi, reportedly to express his pleasure to Congress president Sonia Gandhi over being stripped of the water resources portfolio and the department‘s division. In New Delhi, Patil met AICC functionary Oscar Fernandes and is expected to call on Sonia on Tuesday.

KPCC president B. Janardhana Poojary, who is in New Delhi, when contacted, told The Times of India: “Patil should take it up as a challenge as he did good work in the water resources department. Karnataka has faced drought consistently for three years. It is an election year and we need a capable minister to come up with innovative ideas,” he contended.

Close shave for Ambarish: Even as chief minister S.M. Krishna spoke of fatal accidents on the Bangalore-Mysore road, Mandya MP Ambarish was witness to a serious one on Monday. He told reporters:” I was sitting inside a petrol bunk waiting for a vehicle to pick me up and bring me to this fuction.Suddenly a full loaded lorry toppled over and crashed about 10 feet from where I was. If it hit me, I would have been finished”.

KRISHNA’S QUOTES

• This road has 52 curves! Heaven knows who decided it should be built like this. Maybe they curved it under pressure to avoid this man’s field or that man’s land. We will try to build it straight.
• Where do we raise resources from? We cannot impose new taxes on you, because lets be honest, you will not pay them. May be I should ask Kareem Lala for funds, but I have put him in jail and cannot ask him.
• People who say we have not done any work should experience thirst in Tumkur or here. Only when they drink the water we have provided and quench their thirst, will they realize what we have done.
• When I came to power, I eyed and even winked at theWorld Bank, but they wouldn’t look at us. I followed up, met the WB chief. Now, we have a love affair with them.
• Cauvery is my favorite river. But I faced biggest problems from her. If I release water, you all are up in arms against me, if I don’t, the Supreme court is up in arms.