K.J. George, recently reinstated as minister for Bengaluru Development and State Town Planning, tweeted a detailed project plan of construction of a bridge that will serve multiple needs of the city. Easing traffic jams on route to the international airport and also from a key national highway connecting Bengaluru’s Basaveshwara circle and Hebbal and covering 6.72 km, the bridge will cost Rs. 1800 crore rupees and the cutting of 812 trees.
'Salient features of Steel flyover from Chalukya Circle to Hebbal'
for more details pls ref;https://t.co/VYGoVbwQD9 pic.twitter.com/HpPn9f1Qbg— KJ George (@thekjgeorge) October 12, 2016
Citizens of Bengaluru protested not only against the exorbitant cost of the project but also against what they call a lack of planning as it does not provide larger mobility for an increasingly congested Bengaluru. Some have also moved the High Court against the proposed bridge.
The government has given a cost break-up analysis and also promises that none of the “heritage buildings and other important buildings in the area include Carlton House, Balabrooie Guest House, Vidhanasoudha, Rajbhavan etc… will be destroyed” and for the 812 trees that will need to be cut, Bengaluru’s civic body has promised to plant 60,000 saplings.
Activists argue that the bridge will only save around seven minutes of time while costing Rs. 250 crores per kilometre. “The issue is lack of transparency, we are not told how this project solves the current problem,” says activist Priya Rajagopal, opposing the project.
