Bus priority lanes at the earliest: DyCM C N Ashwath Narayan

Bus Priority Lanes in twelve corridors of Bengaluru that have a high traffic density will be developed at the earliest, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan said on Thursday.

The project was announced by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in the 2020-21 budget.

Narayan, who was live with DH on Facebook to take questions from citizens, said the government wanted to encourage more people to take public transport and in an effort towards this direction, it was taking up the bus priority lane work.

This apart, developing a 250-km stretch of metro lines, peripheral and surrounding roads are also on the anvil, Narayan said.

“Widening the existing roads is a challenge. We want to encourage people to take public transport. However, at the same time, one cannot prohibit manufacturing of cars and bikes. Hence, we need to create facilities for private transport, too,” he said, stressing on the need for elevated corridors in a city like Bengaluru, albeit emphasising on public transport.

In order to make the city more sustainable when it comes to water supply in the future, the government will look towards reusing water in Bengaluru, he said. At the moment, recycled water is being supplied through KC Valley and HN Valley projects to surrounding areas of the Bengaluru. “I think, we need to establish using of recycling water in Bengaluru itself. That is the way forward for achieving self-sufficiency,” he said.

Responding to a question posed by a viewer that there was no mention of the Peripheral Ring Road in the budget, Narayan said the government was in the process of negotiating with farmers for land acquisition and the process would be expedited.

As for fuel hike, there was no other option for the state government, Narayan said. “If you compare with other states, we are still cheaper,” the minister justified.