'BBMP's PCU statistics imaginative'

Who planned underpass at Tagore Circle?

This fact revealed in a study, once again came to the fore during a visit to the underpass construction site by traffic expert, M N Sreehari and senior Congress leader, B K Chandrashekhar.
Rejecting the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s statistics of heavy vehicular movement at Tagore Circle, Chandrashekhar raised many questions on the contract awarded for the construction of grade separator.

He visited the site along with the advisor to government for traffic, transportation and infrastructure Prof M N Sreehari, eminent folk singer Y K Muddukrishna and former mayor P R Ramesh.

After gathering information from the policemen deployed there, he questioned the BBMP’s claim that the PCU per hour during peak time of the day reaches somewhere between 11,000 to 12,000.

Misleading
“The PCUs never exceeded 5,000. The BBMP is misleading people on this issue,” said Chandrashekhar. He wanted to know from the BBMP authorities and the State Government who had planned the grade separator, who conducted the PCU study and gave nod to go ahead with the project. “All of us demand a case study afresh and the Commissioner should announce immediately. Whatever the PCU statistics BBMP is showing is all imaginative,” said Chandrashekhar.

A mere Rs 50 lakh

Sreehari said an underpass using the magic boxes connecting BP Wadia Road to Gandhi Bazaar would have done and it would have hardly cost the BBMP Rs 50 lakh.
Speaking to mediapersons, former Mayor P R Ramesh said the entire project seemed shady as how and when the contract was awarded was not coming out quite clearly and what was the basis behind the escalation of price from Rs 17.5 crore to Rs 19.2 crore for the construction of underpass when prices of construction materials had crashed.