8-lane Okalipuram project to be ready by December in Bengaluru

Bengaluru Development Minister K J George on Thursday said the eight-lane road at Okalipuram will be completed by this December and the flyover near the Fortis Hospital in Rajajinagar I Block will be inaugurated soon.

The minister was speaking to reporters after inspecting some ongoing projects in the City. The first stop of the minister's convoy was the ongoing Okalipuram Eight-Lane Road project. The project, worth Rs 102 crore, was mooted by the previous BJP government four years ago but could not be implemented. Last June, the ground-breaking ceremony was performed to kickstart the project.

During the inspection, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike engineers told the minister that so far, 28 percent of the work has been completed and it will be completed within the stipulated time. The minister directed the Palike engineers to ensure that Railway officials cooperate to complete the project.

The next destination was the flyover at Rajajinagar, which is completed but awaiting inauguration. The reasons cited by the Palike engineers was that the service road has not been completed yet. However, other Palike sources said issues with the contractor over payment has prevented its opening for public use.The minister visited Dr Rajkumar Memorial Indoor Stadium in Mahalakshmi Layout. The project started three years ago but was stopped for two years for want of funds. Initially, it was supposed to have been finished at a cost of Rs 5.25 crore but now, an additional Rs three crore would be required. In this regard, a proposal has been sent to the Palike administration for the additional funds. Civil work has been completed but the interiors need some finishing. Mayor B N Manjunath Reddy and Palike Commissioner G Kumar Naik, who also accompanied the Minister, agreed to release funds to complete the project.

Later, interacting with the media, George said road work was a continuous process and improving a majority of roads now requires at least Rs 1,500 crore. He said a major project to link two national highways with the peripheral ring road would be taken up.