Ahead of the Assembly elections, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to be on an inauguration spree. On Thursday, he inaugurated a multi-level car park at Freedom Park, the first phase of the eight-lane Okalipuram Corridor, a skywalk on M.G. Road and the remodelled Church Street.
However, the car parking facility and the Okalipuram Corridor are far from complete.
Only 65% of the work on the corridor has been completed. The project includes a 430-metre long flyover between Okalipuram Junction and Fountain Circle. Sources in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said that the corridor will include a railway underpass and a loop. Mr. Siddaramaiah directed officials to speed up the work.
At the multi-level car parking facility at Freedom Park, only 40% of the work has been completed.
On reaching Church Street, he got off the bus, got into his car and left for Tumakuru without interacting with officials.
Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy and Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George inaugurated the remodelled Church Street. Later, Mr. George remarked that the previous government had converted Bengaluru into a ‘Garbage City’. “We are converting it back to ‘Garden City’ by taking up different development works.”
Mr. Reddy blamed the previous government, headed by the BJP, for increasing the BBMP’s loan burden to ₹8,000 crore and pledging the civic body’s properties. “The Congress government has taken steps to not just reduce the loan burden, but has also been successful in getting back most of the pledged properties,” he said.
Bengaluru to get a Times Square?
Mayor R. Sampath Raj is keen that the city gets a square of the likes of New York Times Square. On Thursday, he told reporters that the Brigade Road entrance could be developed as a square. He added that the project is being conceived by Jana Urban Space Foundation, which has been asked to prepare a detailed project report for the same.
