Bangalore-Mysore highway fuels development

Bangalore-Mysore highway fuels development
The Bangalore-Maddur stretch along the State Highway No 17 promises to be a smooth drive, says Leena Mudbidri


The distance between Bangalore and Mysore is closing in, almost turning them into twin cities. With infrastructure connectivity making great strides on both sides, commuters along the State highway will have something to cheer about in the coming years. Also, with the Mysore Airport becoming operational shortly, more people from Bangalore will be travelling to Mysore frequently along these highways.
At the recent Special Executive Committee meeting chaired by the Governor of Karnataka, development works on all major highways in the State have been earmarked, including the ones connecting Bangalore and Mysore. According to M Krishna Kumar, Advisor to the Governor, of the 3,400 km of the State highways, 584.5 km will be initially developed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crores.
The Government of Karnataka's initiatives based on the public-private partnership model has seen a range of successful projects being completed in record time. Developing the State highways along the same partnership module was also being floated and the Bangalore-Mysore State Highway was earmarked for private participation.
The existing Bangalore-Mysore State highway No 17 was initially a two-lane carriageway passing through Kengeri, Bidadi, Ramanagaram, Chennapatna, Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna. When a Detailed Project Report (DPR) was prepared for this stretch based on technical and feasibility studies, it was decided to make it a fourlane highway. The Government of Karnataka, Public Works Development (PWD) and the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) awarded the project to Brindavan Infrastructure Company Limited on a build, operate, transfer (BOT) basis.
The dusty two lane carriageway from Bangalore to Maddur was developed into a sleek, four-lane highway within a span of 21 months and is thrown open to traffic with all the four-lanes fully operational. The 62 km stretch sports medians with colourful, all season flowering plants providing a visual treat to tired drivers. The highway stretch has been developed in conformation to standards set by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Indian Road Congress (IRC). Appointed with state-of-the-art street furniture including traffic signals, bus shelters and reflectors, the new Bangalore-Maddur stretch promises to take the fatigue out of driving to Mysore.
Realty boom around townships The focus of the realty scene will be on the periphery with these five integrated thematic townships coming up in Kengeri, Bidadi, Ramanagaram, Chennapatna and Maddur. Each of these townships will be built around a specific theme in concordance to the environs. Bidadi Township will be an IT centre. Ramanagaram which is a proposed heritage hub will also be an IT centre if the demand from the Bidadi Township spills over. The others will be allocated depending on the demand.
Being away from the developed zones, the new satellite towns will focus on commercial development and stress will be on improving the local economy by creating more employment opportunities for the people living around these areas.
These satellite towns will have broad interior roads, power, water, sanitation, rain water harvesting facilities along with sewage water treatment plant and solid waste processing unit.
A large integrated development currently under construction at Bidadi is proposed to have a leisure-cumentertainment section, residential area with villas and apartments, retail segment for shopping and commercial component with film studios and a film institute as well. Residential development has been proposed over 14 acres of the project area, and an IT Park will spread across four acres of the project area.
The proposal from a frontranking firm to set up a special economic zone in the textile and apparel sector at Doddamanugudde in Bangalore Rural district, over an area of 150 acres, has received inprinciple approval. A pharma company is also planning a Rs 165 crores campus on 200 acres of land in Bidadi, where it plans to set up an R&D centre.
Residential development along the belt is characterised by large public and private residential plotted layouts. Residential developments have been proposed by Karnataka Housing Board at Kengeri and Mandya.