Work on PRR to start soon

Work on PRR to start soon

The Chief Minister said a proposal to provide land at concessional rates to BMTC for construction of bus terminals may be considered.
Deccan Herald

Work on the Peripheral Ring Road, surrounding the existing Outer Ring Road (ORR) will be taken up soon, Chief Minister N Dharam Singh said on Wednesday.

The Rs 300 crore project will help in easing traffic congestion in the City drastically, Mr Singh said after dedicating the Shantinagar bus terminus to the citizens of Bangalore. With the number of vehicles on Bangalore roads increasing day by day, it has become essential to have the peripheral ring road to supplement other infrastructure initiatives. The Government is committed to implement the PRR and Bangalore Metro Rail project to significantly reduce the congestion on roads, he added.

Responding to the demand made by Transport Minister M Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Ananthkumar, Mr Singh assured that he will consider the demand for providing land at concessional rate to BMTC and KSRTC to set up bus terminals in various parts of the state.

Transport Minister M Mallikarjun Kharge urged the Chief Minister to take measures to bear the entire subsidy cost, which the transport corporations incur in providing concessional passes to various beneficiaries, so that corporations can further improve bus services. He said the Kempegowda bus terminus will be completely renovated. “We have chalked out a blue print for improving amenities at the bus station”, he said.

Increasing schedule
BMTC managing director Upendra Tripathy said the BMTC has planned to increase the total schedules to 4,330 by the end of October from the existing 3,813 schedules. He further said the Corporation has plans to introduce BMTC Volvo buses soon. “We also have plans to set up state of the art bus terminuses at Kengeri, Yeshwantpur, Domlur, Yelahanka and Hebbal,” he said.

Urging the Chief Minister to reduce the Motor Vehicle and Sales Tax, he said that the motor vehicle tax has been raised by 66 per cent last year, while the sales tax, has gone up by 165 per cent. This has led to drastic increase in the tax expenditure of the corporations, he said.

MP Ananthkumar urged the Chief Minister to take measures to provide connectivity between the Outer Ring Road, Peripheral Ring Road and the Bangalore Metro Rail Project.