It’s reboot time for Bangalore

ONE FOR TECHIES - It’s reboot time for Bangalore
Hindustan Times

PM flags off elevated superway, metro

PMSPEAK
People must learn road manners... how to give way to pedestri- ans, how to observe normal rules while overtaking & when not to blow a horn. — On road manners

In the extremely com- petitive world we live in, cities slide up and down on rankings and Bangalore will need to keep reinventing itself for the future if it has to maintain its lead. — On Bangalore

It is the hospitality of the Kannada people that has made your state so popular with global investors. You have become a symbol of a new India, an India on the move. — On K’taka hospitality

Our experience with public-private partner- ship has been encour- aging. We are quite confident we’ll gener- ate resources for this vast project. — On public-pvt tie-up


IT WAS a giant stride forward in terms of infrastructure for this tech hub as two key ventures—an elevated toll expressway to help thousands of techies race to their workplace, and the Bangalore Metro Rail designed to decongest the city's roads were flagged off by prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh here on Saturday.

“Bangalore is a global brand,” said Dr Singh. “People in the rest of the world know more about Bangalore than they do about India. Bangalore has a unique place in our nation. It has shown the way to progress and prosperity that the rest of the nation is now trying to emulate.” Singh added that through the hard work of millions in this great city and through the visionary entrepreneurship shown by people like Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji, Nandan Nilekani, this city has become not only the IT capital of the country, but also a rival to the Silicon Valley in California.

Former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, a bitter critic of the Ban galore Metro Rail project, was conspicuous by his absence though he was scheduled to share the dais with Dr Manmohan Singh.

The prime minister was all praise for the hospitality of Kannadigas. "My sincere advise to you would be that you zealously preserve this great asset - your hospitality. This is what makes Karnataka one of our most modern states. You have great potential and a great future,” he said.

One of the two projects he inaugurated, this multi-corridor (ten lane), ten-km dream project will connect the state capital with Electronics City, a sprawling campus that houses more than 800 info-tech companies. It will be Bangalore's highest flyover and the only one of its kind in the country at a dizzying 17 metres (56 feet) from the ground. The Rs 450 crore lofty road will be constructed in 24 months by a Hyderabad-based consortium, which will recover the cost through toll.

On the other hand, the Rs 6,395 crore Bangalore Metro Rail system will be executed by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) with equity participation by the central and state governments and a Rs 1600 crore soft loan from the Japan Bank of International Corporation (JBIC). The sevenkm first phase of the mega-buck project would be ready by 2009. On his part, chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy promised better roads and other civic amenities for the people of Bangalore.

Major gains NAMMA (OUR) METRO 33 km Length: Pattern: Elevated and underground 1:7-km Phase 6,395 cr Cost: Rs Commuters per day: 8,20,000 Deadline: 2009 km ‘HI-TECH’ FLYOVER Location: Mixed corridor from Silk Board junction to Electronic City on Bangalore-Hosur NH-7 10-lane Pattern:

17 m (56 ft) Height: Cost: Rs 450 cr Length: 9.985 km Expected in: 24 months To be built on: Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis It will have: Two-lane service roads 2 underpasses 4 pedestrian underpasses 2 toll plazas