Elevated road from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal on the cards

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said an elevated road from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal would be constructed for hassle-free drive to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).

Inaugurating the upgrading, operation and maintenance of a section of National Highway-7 connecting Bangalore with Hyderabad under Karnataka National Highway Development Project- Phase-7, Siddaramaiah said the government has earmarked Rs 1,200 crore for improvement of the road from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal and entrusted the Bangalore Development Authority with the task. “The proposed road will make the journey from KIA to Vidhana Soudha easy,” he said.

A study has suggested that vehicular movement on this stretch is 15,000 passenger car units per hour during peak hours, which necessitated widening of NH-7 and construction of three flyovers. Keeping the need in mind, he said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has undertaken the upgrading of 22-km long stretch of NH-7 at a cost of Rs 680 crore. The project will improve the economy of villages nearby leading to better living condition of villagers.

Siddaramaiah also distributed insurance smart card to auto and taxi drivers under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana. The flagship insurance programme of the Centre is to extend health insurance to unorganised sector. 

Families of beneficiaries can avail themselves of medical aid up to Rs 30,000 in 18,000 hospitals across the country. It has been provided to street vendors, beedi workers, domestic workers, licensed railway porters, vendors, hawkers, construction workers and postmen but the State government has extended it to auto and taxi drivers. On a pilot basis, cards were distributed to 50 drivers.