BDA projects on track

BDA projects on track
There is a thrust by the BDA to complete all ongoing projects on time.
Times of India

With the growing demand and urgent need for infrastructure in the city, all hopes are on the planned projects. The infrastructure projects undertaken by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) are progressing well and will be completed in time as rescheduled, according to M N Vidyashankar, Commissioner, BDA.

Jayadeva Institute grade separator

Speaking on the progress of the grade separator at the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, BDA's Engineer Member Ramesh said, "while the project was 27 percent complete in August 2004, it is 80 percent ready today". The Rs 17.56 crores project was originally scheduled to be completed by April 30 this year. The main flyover is from Banashankari towards Hosur Road with a 6-lane unidirectional flyover. A loop from Bannerghatta side joins the main flyover to provide free turning movement along the Outer Ring Road. An underpass along Bannerghatta Road which has a 4-lane bidirectional divided carriageway is also planned. The agency carrying out the work has been granted extension of time till February 28, 2005 for completion of the underpass part of the project while the main flyover will be ready for public by the end of this month. The issues of payment of differential cost of reinforcement steel, after the recent steel price hike, and release of security deposit against bank guarantee have been addressed.

Also, advance payment for procurement of reinforcement steel to a tune of 75 percent has been made to help speed up the work.

Bangalore Dairy grade separator

The grade separator at Bangalore Dairy Circle, costing Rs 23 crores too was scheduled to be completed originally on April 30, 2004. Here, the main flyover has a 4-lane divided bidirectional carriageway along Hosur Road from NIMHANS side to Madiwala side. An underpass along Bannerghatta Road has a 4-lane divided bi-directional carriageway. The flyover has been opened to traffic in September 2004. The underpass and grade level roads were opened by the Chief Minister, Dharam Singh, on November 25, 2004. In this project, 68 percent of the total work was completed in the last three months.

Ananda Rao Circle flyover

This project is estimated to cost Rs 27.60 crores and the scheduled date of completion is November 14, 2005. The project comprises a main flyover along Seshadri Road with unidirectional carriageway, and a loop towards Race Course side with a unidirectional carriageway. A grade level service road for a free turn towards Seshadripuram is planned. A 5-lane undivided one-way flyover up to Ananda Rao Circle with a 2- lane one-way down ramp towards Basaveshwara Circle and a 4-lane one-way flyover along Seshadri Road crossing Ananda Rao Circle and Subbanna Circle is planned.

Arkavati Layout

The infrastructure projects apart, the much-awaited Arkavati Layout is set to be allotted as planned by January 15, 2005. Tenders from contractors for civic works in the Layout were invited through an e-tendering process, and work orders issued. This project is costing BDA Rs 950 crores including land acquisition.
The project has some distinguishing features such as dual water lines, independent tertiary treatment plant for the area, and wellpreserved lung spaces as lakes and gardens.

Cubbon Park STP

A sewage treatment plant (STP) with a capacity of 1.5 million litres daily (MLD) is under construction at Cubbon Park. This plant is estimated to cost Rs 3.70 crores. This STP employs the membrane bio-reactor technology. Work is scheduled to be completed by the end of February 2005.

This not only caters to the irrigation requirement of the vast gardens of Cubbon Park, but also sells water to the public for their non-potable requirements.

"All these projects will be completed as per schedule. Our Commissioner and Engineer Member are personally on rounds almost every day to ensure speedy progress of the works", says T C Kathyayini, Public Relations Officer, BDA. "We understand the needs of this city. Our commitments to the city will be our top priority and they will be met at any cost", asserts Vidyashankar. The projects being completed on time also means the capacity to take up fresh ones. And for the city, it is the need of the hour.