With a measurement tape in hand, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar inspected ongoing white-topping roadworks in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru: With a measurement tape in hand, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar inspected the ongoing white-topping roadworks in Yeshwantpur and Basavanagudi assembly constituencies in Bengaluru on Sunday.
He said that Bengaluru's civic body was currently white-topping 97 roads spanning 153 km at a total cost of Rs 1,700 crore.
After inspecting the quality and progress of the work, Shivakumar told reporters that white-topping was being carried out as per international standards.
"These roads will have provisions for ducts for power and telecommunication cables. We will not allow the cutting of roads for (repairing or relaying) utility lines in the future," he said.
According to Shivakumar, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been given a deadline of 11 months to complete these projects. In the second phase, 450 km of roads will be white-topped. After these projects, Bengaluru will have 1,700 km of white-topped roads, he added.
According to him, he inspected the roads to ensure coordination between various agencies.
"We have also taken up the work on stormwater drains. All these works won't happen in a day but we are completing them on priority as per the availability of funds," he added.
Asked about Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's remark that the Bengaluru tunnel road project was a "painfully expensive idea with a very small traffic benefit," Shivakumar said: "If that is the case, why are they building tunnels in Maharashtra? What does the railway minister have to do with tunnel road projects in Bengaluru?"
Asked about preparations for ensuring adequate water supply in the summer, he hoped that the Cauvery 5th Stage project would ensure sufficient water for Bengaluru in the coming months and asked residents to take Cauvery water connections.