Manmohan may inaugurate airport at Devanahalli

Manmohan may inaugurate airport at Devanahalli

Special Correspondent

It will be ready by March 31 next year: Thakur

Plan to build a high speed elevated rail link to airport

No decision on holding Council session

Bangalore: The long-awaited international airport at Devanahalli is on schedule and will be ready by March 31 next year. Stating this at a press conference after a Cabinet meeting, Governor Rameshwar Thakur said that he was requesting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to inaugurate the airport.

Accompanied by his advisers, S. Krishna Kumar, P.P. Prabhu and P.K.H. Tharakan, the Governor said the development of infrastructure for the airport, including connectivity from the city, was in full swing. All steps were being taken to meet the deadline.

Mr. Kumar said that the executive committee also discussed a proposal to build a high speed elevated direct rail link from the BRV Parade Grounds on Mahatma Gandhi Road to the airport. The passengers could directly check-in and reach the airport in 25 minutes. The rail link could be built using the space on the road median.

He said that the Home Department and the city police had been asked to study the impact of vehicular traffic at the starting point and the feasibility of the project. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Managing Director E. Sridharan will have a meeting with the advisers on December 15 to discuss the issue.
Railway station

Mr. Kumar said that the Cabinet discussed a proposal to build another railway station at Byappanahalli on Old Madras Road. Already the three railway stations in the city and at Yeshwanthpur and Cantonment were very busy and Bangalore needed another full-fledged railway station.

Mr. Kumar said the Department of Industries had land which belonged to the NGEF. Some portions of the 228 acres of land had been given to the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and others. He said the Government had directed the Industries Department to take up the proposal with the Railway Ministry to ease the congestion in other railway stations.

With a view to implementing the D.M. Nanjundappa Committee report on regional imbalances, he said a special development plan was approved and a cell to implement this would be set up in the Department of Planning. A Karnataka Municipal Data facility would also be created in the Department of Urban Development.