High-profile casualties on Race Course Road

High-profile casualties on Race Course Road

Sharan Poovanna
Express News Service
First Published : 24 Jul 2010 03:53:08 AM IST
Last Updated : 24 Jul 2010 10:26:10 AM IST

BANGALORE: There are many prominent buildings on Race Course Road, that will have to bear the brunt of the BBMP's bulldozers for road widening.

Khanija Bhavan and Chalukya Hotel are two such casualties. The other important buildings on the road are Hotel Taj West End, Shakti Bhavan, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and a few other institutions.

Leo Saldanha of Environment Support Group said a wide road might ensure easy flow of traffic on that stretch but narrow roads before and after it meant that the city's overall traffic woes remained unchanged.

"There are intelligent solutions available to decongest traffic but they are not being looked at because there is no money in it," he said.

Saldanha said Rs 1020 crore would be spent to widen every kilometre. He said total money thus spent for road widening in the city would amount to thousands of crores of rupees, and added that engineers, bureaucrats and contractors involved in road widening would make a lot of money.

Shriram, a businessman who visits Chalukya Hotel often, said he disapproved of the entire project as it was not scientific. He said demolishing properties and cutting trees was not the answer to the city's traffic woes.

Vasanth Nagar councillor Katta Jagadish, who is against the widening project, said he would raise the issue in the BBMP's council.