On the road to redemption

As the year draws to a close, the civic body is taking stock of its hits and misses. Though the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) admits to making mistakes, it is all set to redeem itself over the next year, with major infrastructure overhaul on the cards.



Facing flak: This year, the civic body had to deal with widespread
protests from citizens over road-widening projects. Pic/Ramesh HS

This year, the BBMP had to deal with widespread protests from citizens over road-widening and tree-felling projects. A spokesperson from the BBMP admitted that the civic body had "made mistakes". However, the BBMP plans to change the way it approaches infrastructure issues and better utilise the annual Rs 2,500 crore infrastructure budget, he added.

The changes include tackling road widening on a case-by-case basis. This is because after the announcement of a vast number of roads to be widened led to "agitation and awareness campaigns from citizens," said a senior spokesperson for the BBMP.

Apart from road widening, the BBMP also has some major projects planned to help alleviate the traffic strain on the city, which it described as "only getting worse."

The civic body plans to build India's largest flyover, stretching from the City Market flyover to Kengeri. The flyover will be just under 13 km long, which eclipses the 11.6 km flyover that opened last year in Hyderabad, and is expected to cost Rs 700 crore. A steel bridge from K G Road to Corporation Circle is planned at a cost of Rs 120 crore, as is a flyover from near St John's Hospital in Koramangala to Mysore Road.

These projects will be worked on alongside 10-12 underpasses that are currently before the government. With the Namma Metro expected next year, the city is looking forward to spending fewer hours in traffic.

A K Gopala Swamy, BBMP's engineer-in-chief, was pleased with the progress made in 2010, but said he looked forward to a positive 2011.

"We will be concentrating on water infrastructure, road works, increasing the number of street lights and fixing the lakes next year. The budget is delayed at the moment, but the tenders are being processed, and we expect some big new works to begin in December end and early January," he said.

He added, "I have been happy with what has happened this year and think it has been very successful."
Other plans

Aside from improving Bangalore's traffic, Gopala Swamy said that water infrastructure, an increase in street lighting, a more streamlined waste management system and the repairing of 56 lakes around the city are also on the agenda for 2011.

The BBMP plans to have a waste management station in every one of the 198 wards of the city to be able to segregate dry waste. They has also teamed up with a German firm in a Rs 350-400 crore project to turn waste into energy after a presentation by the company on November 18.

A BBMP source said, "The purpose is to segregate garbage at the source and to create awareness among the public. The project will cost us nothing, as the company will foot the bill and then sell the energy back to us. All we have to do is provide the land."

Mission 2011

* Improving infrastructure * Increasing the number of street lights * Repairing of 56 lakes * Waste management stations in all 198 wards

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