• Is road widening the only allternative ?
  
  Mavalli - one of the oldest villages of Bangalore City. As Bangalore grew, the village became part of the City. Vehicular movement in the area increased as it is located close to one of the major tourist attractions - Lalbagh.
• Widen roads, but...
  Widened roads are welcome, as long as they also spare us worries over land acquisition. That summed up the contention of the residents, who are bracing for Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)’s road-widening initiative on Bellary Road, Tannery Road and Dr Ambedkar Road.

  People who reacted to the project on Sunday told Deccan Herald that widened roads should also be complemented with adequate parking space, underpasses and footpaths. The Palike has invited applications for grant of Transferable Development Rights (TDR) from owners of properties that come on these roads. The project proposes to widen the three roads to a width of 24 metres.

• BBMP to draw up traffic blueprint
  The BBMP has accorded top priority to the city's traffic management. The civic body will draw up a blueprint on traffic management around newly constructed high-rises before occupancy certificates are issued, said BBMP commissioner S Subramanya on Saturday. The aim is to ease traffic congestions.

  Talking to reporters, he said the BBMP's traffic engineering cell will work with the traffic police to identify solutions. A blueprint will be prepared for UB City and other mega complexes that have come up in and around the city.

• Widen roads but spare a thought for trees
  The interactive session on road widening jointly organised by Environment Support Group, Civic and Alternative Law Forum provided space for discussion on various issues related to traffic congestion and conserving green
• Private firms to build roads in Bangalore
  Even as the road-widening programme on four major roads is under way, the BBMP identified 35 more roads to be widened under the transferable development rights (TDR) scheme.

  Mumbai-based Bhobe Associates has been entrusted with the responsibility of preparing Detailed Project Reports, said senior BBMP officials.
  

• NGOs plan debate on road widening
  Even as the City's stakeholders get ready to discuss issues related to widening roads to ease the traffic bot tlenecks, a group of NGOs is set to host a public debate on the impact of the move
• Guv tells NICE to give land details
  The BMIC project has got a reprieve after facing many a hurdle during the JD(S)-led coalition government.

  Governor Rameshwar Thakur on Saturday summoned the promoters, Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises and is reported to have asked to give in writing the land required for completing the peripheral and link roads.
  

• BMIC expressway short of land
  Construction work on available land for Section A of the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMIC) including link road, peripheral road and portions of the expressway, has been completed, according to promoters of the corridor, Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Limited (NICE).

  A company spokesman said the work was complete “except at a few patches where land was not made available and approval for construction of bridges was required”. According to NICE, the company requires land for the link road (on three locations), peripheral road (four locations) and expressway (8 kms of road, apart from land for two interchanges). Approvals from the BBMP, BWSSB and PWD are also pending on certain locations, he said.

• HC notices to Chief Secretary, NICE
  Karnakata High Court on Thursday ordered contempt notices to State Chief Secretary P B Mahishi, Commerce and Industry Secretary K M Shivkumar, Urban Development Secretary Subhash Chandra, PWD Secretary Sudhir Krishna and Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) Managing Director Ashok Kheny and its seven other directors.
• Chaos on the way
  Scores of tall, massive apartments dominate the skyline. Rows of glass-and-steel facade complexes. Hundreds of sedans, vans, buses and trucks lined up for kilometres. This is part of Greater Bangalore — the 14-km stretch between Sarjapur Road and KR Puram. Testimony to the realty boom and expanding horizons of the IT spectrum.

  But this burst of prosperity is dogged by a ticking time bomb - inadequate infrastructure. There are about 2,500 mega apartment structures with dwellings of more than 1.5 lakh individual units. There are about 500 massive office complexes with over 1 million sqft of office space.
  

• PWD pushes land for land; owners allege hard sell
  Cornered by litigation over land acquisition, promoters of the proposed State Highway (Special) connecting the Outer Ring Road to the upcoming international airport in Devanahalli, are pushing hard the idea of land as compensation. With the period for calling objections to the project getting over, the Public Works Department has proposed sites for property owners displaced by the 21.2-km highway. PWD Secretary Sudhir Krishna said the Department was negotiating with Government agencies, including the Bangalore Development Authority, to look into possibilities of offering alternative sites to property owners who are affected by the project.
• Thimmampalli-Billur road in bad shape
  The state of these roads have not changed for decades now. Even after the reorganisation of the district, change of legislators, and despite the fact that a politician from this area is a central minister, these roads have still not improved. The Thimmampalli-Billur road has been in a state of disrepair for several decades now, but there is no one willing to look into the matter.
  
  
• Malleswaram Circle underpass work at snail's pace
  The then BBMP commissioner K Jairaj had assured the residents that the underpass at Malleswaram Circle will be ready for inauguration by July 1. The Palike, in its budget document for 2007-08, had stated that the construction would be completed by June end. But the work is still on even three and half months after the expiry of deadline!
  
  
• NICE workers not so nice
  Tense situation prevailed in front of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) office on peripheral ring road on Thursday evening. Some students and faculty members of Environment Support Group (ESG), led by its coordinator Leo Saldanha staged a snap protest alleging that NICE workers tried to assault faculty members and students when they were on a study trip.
• Bapujinagar flyover dogged by delays
  Bangalore city has been selected for overall development of urban infrastructure under the Centre’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. So far the Centre has approved 13 works proposed by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. The Centre contributes 35 per cent of the total cost of these projects and remaining is shared by the State government and the Palike in the ratio of 15 pc and 50 pc respectively. The Centre started releasing first installment of its share for the work in December 2006. So far the Centre has released Rs 68.3 crore for urban infrastructure works. Deccan Herald has done a reality check on the status of  important works taken up under the JUNURM. Today’s spotlight is on flyover at Bapujinagar.
• M'lore-B'lore travel a nightmare
  Those commuting between Mangalore and Bangalore by road are well aware of the agony. The Shiradi ghat stretch of the National Highway-48, linking Port city to the State capital is in a pathetic condition.
  Since no repair works have been taken up for many years to make the road motorable, the travellers are facing the brunt. The plight of the road is so bad that it seems like connectivity between the two major cities of the state are almost cut off.
• SC stays notification inviting tenders for BMIC
  The Supreme Court today stayed till further orders the notification issued by the Karnataka Government on September 17, inviting global tenders for completing the Rs 2,250 crore Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor project.

  A bench comprising Justices B N Agarwal, P P Naolekar and D K Jain also issued notices to the Karnataka government on a petition filed by Nandi, the contractors of the express highway.

• Govt's decision to hand BMIC proj to GIC a fraud
  Managing Director of the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) Ashok Kheney today alleged that the state government's decision to handover express highway project between Bangalore-Mysore to Global Infrastructure Consortium was a 'fraud'. Talking to newsmen here he alleged that the company's address mentioned in the application was false. Even the Bangalore address was said to be fake one, he said.
• Bangalore Turf Club gives way for road expansion Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has, on Thursday, pulled down a portion of Bangalore Turf Club’s compound wall facing Race Course Road, to convert it into a six lane road.

  BBMP has taken a Rs 5 crore project to widen the busy and congested Race Course road -- between Anand Rao Circle and Basaveshwara Circle -- by 30 meters. The present width of the road is just between 7 and 12 meters. Due to the narrow road, traffic snarls are common during morning and evening peak hours. The project, once completed, will ensure smooth flow of traffic on this route.

• Govt invites tenders for BMIC
  The Karnataka government on Thursday invited global bids for the BMIC project on the Swiss Challenge approach even as the case is pending in the Supreme Court.
• Flyovers getting more attention
  The collapse of a flyover in Hyderabad on Sunday resulting in 15 deaths has brought into focus public safety at infrastructure project sites. Bangalore, over the past seven years, has seen construction of at least 10 flyovers.
• Karnataka invites global tender for BMIC project
  Karnataka Cabinet today decided to invite global tender under Swiss Challenge based on a proposal submitted by Global Infrastructure Limited with regard to take up Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project after obtaining permission from the Supreme Court.
• Mysore Airport to be ready by October 2009
  Mysore Airport will be ready for operation by October 2009, Union Ministry of Civil Aviation Joint Secretary K N Srivatsava said today.

  Speaking to newsmen after inspecting the works at Mandakali Airport, near here, he said that the works were expected to be completed by January 2009 and after trail run and testing the runway it would be ready for operation by Dasara Festivities in 2009.

• Can Tumkurs highway be broadened?
  That the road traffic at Tumkur has gone haywire is no news any more. Both traffic police and the public have come to accept it as a matter of fact. Political leaders, youth leader aspirants and the silent officer bearers of various organisations are all looking the other way, not breaking their heads over the problem.
• Kaggadasapura Residents protest against bad roads
  Residents of Kaggadasapura in Bangalore staged a rasta-roko demanding repair of 1.5 km stretch road connecting Kaggadasapura and Vignana Nagar, on Tuesday.

  Residents of the locality started protest around 9.30 am and continued for two hours affecting traffic movement. Protesters alleged that despite many complaints BBMP has not taken measures to improve the road. Nirmala, a resident of the locality, said that she is suffering from back pain as she has been travelling on the road for a few months.

• BMIC - a saga of legal roadblocks
  The state's 'escape hatch' of the Swiss Challenge method is the latest in a long legal tangle: if the government is keen to stop the project, implementation company Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) is equally committed in going ahead.
• Growing numbers may leave City dry
  The population of Bangalore increases every year by an average of 1,91,300. At this rate, its total population would touch 10 million by 2021. The BDA Master Plan estimates the population of Bangalore City would be 8.8 million by 2015. However, the plan does not specify any programme to quench the thirst of increasing population.
• Expressway project on schedule
  Exactly a year to go. And according to officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), there will be no delay in the completion of the Hosur Road expressway project.

  The first launching gantry is ready and you are likely to shortly see it lift up and fix pre-cast segments to create the superstructure of the expressway.

• Work in swift pace for Mysore Airport upgradation
  This city of palaces, emerging a logical extension of Bangalore for IT sector expansion, will soon find its lost place in the aviation map of the country following the development of a full fledged Airport.

  Work on upgrading the airport at Mandakalli on the outskirts of the city has picked up steam following the urgency of it exhibited by the IT sector as the city had emerged the second in the State in IT exports, which had crossed Rs 760 crore last year.

• Infrastructure projects achieve financial progress
  The urban infrastructure development projects, taken up by the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Coastal Environmental Management Project (KUDCEMP) with Asian Development Bank (ADB) assistance in five towns in undivided Dakshina Kannada, has achieved financial progress ranging from over 55 per cent to 84 per cent.
• Karnataka to develop 3 Airports on PPP model
  As many as 19 companies in the private sector had shown interest to develop three Airports Bijapur, Shimoga and Gulbarga under the PPP model, Infrastructure Secretary V P Baligar said today.

  Speaking to newsmen here he said that the state government had acquired land for the proposed airports. In future all the major highway projects would be developed under the PPP model and already the Sandur, Hospet and Belekere by-pass road works were being taken up under such mode at a cost of over Rs 110 crore.

• High-speed rail link to Bangalore airport
  Pushed into action by criticism from the Union civil aviation ministry, the state moved one step forward towards constructing a rail link from the city to the Bangalore International Airport site at Devanahalli.

  To cater to international standards and also to avoid traffic problems, the state government has proposed to run a high-speed elevated train from MG Road to the under-construction airport in two years. The airport itself will be operational next year, from April.

• Upgraded roads dug up
  A footpath near Chalukya Circle on Raj Bhavan Road lies excavated for a fault correction by Bescom. Ulsoor Road near Trinity Circle has met with a similar fate, thanks to BWSSB laying a pipeline.
• New design for Electronic city expressway
  National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is set for an on-schedule opening of the elevated expressway between Silk Board Junction and Electronic City. The 9 km expressway will be thrown open to traffic in July, 2008.
• No change in expressway alignment
  Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) Commissioner Sudhir Krishna on We-dnesday said contrary to allegations made by the public, there has been no change in alignment in the proposed expressway between Outer Ring Road and Devanahalli.
• Acquire land for IRR project, govt told
  Ground work on the proposed 250-km Intermediate Ring Road (IRR) around Bangalore is set to roll with the Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways asking the state government to go ahead with land acquisition for the project. The land acquisition itself is estimated to cost between Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 3,000 crore, he added.
• NHAI approached for Intermediate ring road
  The Centre will favourably consider Karnataka's proposal to build a 250 km intermediate ring road around Bangalore to ease traffic congestion in Greater Bangalore, Union Minsiter for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, T R Baalu, said today.
• Mapunity, Airtel and Bangalore city launch BTIS
  Mapunity Information Services, which develops geographic information systems and services for governance and public affairs has partnered with the Bangalore City Police and Airtel Karnataka, the city's largest mobile operator, to provide a comprehensive urban traffic information system for Bangalore city.
• Uncertainty over alignment: Ring road project grinds to a halt in Gulbarga
  The execution of the second stage of the eight km long ring road on Jewargi-Afzalpur-Aland sector has come to a grinding halt following a direction from Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey, to review the alignment of the ring road.

  The ambitious Gulbarga Ring Road Project, a major infrastructure project for the fast growing city, is back to square one. The uncertainty over the change of alignment of the ring road has become a stumbling block in the implementation of the already much delayed project.

• 4 BDA projects to open on March 30, 2007
  Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) will on Friday throw open four major infrastructure projects to the public. The underpass at the junction of Outer Ring Road and Banaswadi-Ramamurthynagar Road will be one of the projects to be inaugurated on Friday.
• Costliest ring road gets cabinet approval
  Rs 31 crore per km. That's Bangalore Development Authority's (BDA) most-ambitious Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project for you. The most expensive so far. The PRR got the cabinet's nod on Thursday and BDA has begun the land acquisition process.
• Varthur Road to get a facelift
  Reconstruction of the battered stretch of Varthur Road -- from Varthur Kodi to Gunjur -- has finally begun, much to commuters’ relief. PWD officials say Rs 8 crore has been sanctioned for the reconstruction of the 5.85-km stretch and work began 15 days ago. Two km of the stretch is currently being tackled -- the 15th to 17th km from Gunjur towards Varthur.
• Project delays: FKCCI to petition MPs
  The Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) has decided to meet the Karnataka members of parliament from the state to appraise them the delay in implementation of various infrastructure projects pending with the center and urge them to pursue for early clearances.
• AAI to focus on e-gov practices at Bajpe airport
  Airports Authority of India (AAI) Central Vigilance Officer Durga Shankar Mishra today said that with 2007 being declared as e-governance year for aviation, the AAI proposed to introduce more e-governance practices in areas such as e-payments and e-receipts at the Bajpe airport, near here.
• CM leads City down development path
  Come Monday, the IT-City will catch the road towards development, literally. The Public Works Department has lined up 39 road projects to cover 883 km across the Bangalore Metropolitan Region. The project is worth Rs 683.5 crore and is likely to be completed by March 2008.

  Inaugurating the roads project on Friday, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said, “the project will put an end to apprehensions over the slow pace of infrastructure development and connectivity problems.”

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