Rain-hit city to see ‘action’

Rain-hit city to see ‘action’
Meet Moots Comprehensive Plan; Projects For CMCs Too
The Times of India

Bangalore: A comprehensive action plan has been mooted for the rain-battered Bangalore, which will mainly concentrate on reconstruction of damaged roads, drains and sewerage lines. Along with Bangalore, this time, the government has come up with projects for the affected CMC areas and work will commence shortly.

Apart from remodelling city roads, a primary drain will be constructed in Pai Layout under KR Puram CMC along with reconstruction of five badly damaged roads in every CMC.

Chief minister N Dharam Singh, who held a meeting with heads of civic agencies to discuss projects for the city, told reporters here on Monday that the urban development department has drawn up an action plan for BMP, BDA and BWSSB and works will be taken up on a warfooting.

Within the next three days, BMP will identify rain-damaged roads and work has been entrusted to six teams of engineers. On the fourth day, road work will commence, BMP commissioner K Jothiramalingam said adding that the damage caused has been assessed at Rs 300 crore.

Work on the upgradation of four roads (out of 19 roads identified by IT honchos) has begun at a cost of Rs 3 crore. Work on these roads — Airport Road from 100 ft Road junction to Suranjan Das Road; JB Nagar 12th main Road; MG Road from Brigade Road junction to Trinity Circle and Dickenson Road — will be completed by December 15. Work on seven more roads will commence shortly and the project is pending with finance department for exemption from the Transparency Act.

Under the World Bank-funded project, tendering process has been completed for the first phase of work where regradation work will be taken up on seven roads, running up to 30 km at a cost of Rs 22 crore. Work will be completed by June-end.

The badly damaged roads in HSR Layout will be reconstructed by BDA at a cost of Rs 3.75 crore. It will also commence work on the widening of Marathahalli Road which is estimated to cost Rs 5.82 crore, informed BDA commissioner M N Vidyashankar.

The BWSSB on its part, has addressed 800 complaints of sewage block during rains and will take up cleaning and repair of all the overflowing and broken manholes, said its chairman Ashok Kumar Manoli.