Rs 1,200 crore to build entry points to towns along expressway: Pratap Simha in Karnataka

MYSURU: A day after Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari reviewed the status of the under-construction Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, with an access-controlled six-lane main carriageway, Mysuru MP Pratap Simha on Friday said that the Centre had approved the disbursal of Rs 1,200 crore for a project aimed at ensuring access to major cities, including Ramanagara, along the length of the highway. Simha said that work on the project would be initiated without delay. Interacting with representatives of the media in Mysuru, Simha said that, once the project was completed, there would be dedicated entry and exit points to, Ramanagara, Channapatna, Maddur, Mandya, and Srirangapatna along the expressway.
The MP, although confident of the six-lane carriageway that constitutes the key section of the expressway being ready for inauguration by the end of February, said that work on the service road on either side of the carriageway was likely to take longer for completion. Simha said that he estimated work on the project would be completed by mid-March. The MP said that he would request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the expressway, adding that the plan was to have it opened to motorists before the Model Code of Conduct for the assembly elections came into force in the state ahead of the assembly elections.
Two-wheelers and autos would not be allowed on the six-lane carriageway, since avoiding accidents was one of the key objectives behind the construction of the expressway was to avoid accidents, said Simha. Pointing to the uninterrupted service road extending from Bengaluru to Mysuru, the MP said that two-wheelers and autos could use the facility for speedy commute between the two cities.
Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh, meanwhile, said that she had called on Gadkari in Bengaluru on Thursday, and intimated him about the problems faced by the people of the district. She expressed satisfaction with the Union minister’s response. Gadkari had assured her of discussing all the issues she had raised with the officials concerned, said Sumalatha.
‘Will approach CM to name expressway after Cauvery’
Simha, who has been pressing to have the 10-lane expressway named after River Cauvery, said that he would approach chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, appealing to him to submit a proposal to the Union government to that effect. Reacting to demands made by some leaders to have the road named in honour of Mysuru maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, Simha said that christening such an ambitious project after a specific personality was without precedent.
Pointing out that there was a pending proposal to have the railway station in Mysuru named after Nalwadi, Simha cited the examples of highways in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh being named, respectively, for rivers Yamuna and Narmada. He said that, given the exalted position that the River Cauvery occupies in the hearts and minds of the people across Old Mysore region, he wanted the expressway named after the river.