Mysuru
Narasimha Raja Assembly MLA Tanveer Sait on Saturday performed the bhoomi puja and formally launched the white-topping work on the 2.2-km stretch from Manipal Circle to Millennium Circle in Mysuru.
With Mysuru emerging as one of the fastest-growing cities in Karnataka following the completion of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, preparations are underway to welcome tourists arriving for the world-famous Mysuru Dasara celebrations. As part of these preparations, white-topping road projects are being taken up at several key locations in the city.
Mysuru is a major cultural, heritage and tourist destination, and lakhs of visitors from different parts of the country and abroad are expected to arrive in the city during the Dasara festivities. With the anticipated increase in vehicular traffic, the development of durable white-topped roads is expected to improve connectivity and ease traffic movement.
Speaking after performing the bhoomi puja, Sait said the State Government had released funds through the Public Works Department (PWD) to take up white-topping works on 12 major roads in the city to address increasing traffic congestion.
The foundation stone for the projects had been laid earlier when Siddaramaiah was Chief Minister. Following the preparation of the technical report, works that can be completed before the Dasara festival are now being launched.
Three roads in the N.R. Assembly constituency will be taken up for white-topping. The work on the 2.2-km stretch from Manipal Circle to Millennium Circle, launched on Saturday, would be completed before Dasara and opened for public traffic, he said.
Sait said Rs.121 crore had been earmarked for white-topping projects. Works worth Rs.67 crore are being launched as part of the current phase. White-topped concrete roads would have lower maintenance costs, longer durability and provide better riding quality, he added.
He said the Government had identified 12 major roads in Mysuru city that experience heavy vehicular movement and entrusted the PWD with the task of developing these roads through white-topping. The projects would cover a total length of 46.088 km at an estimated cost of Rs.393.85 crore.
The comprehensive white-topping project would include several supporting infrastructure works. These include construction of the white-topping carriageway, provision of paver blocks and buffer zones along the roads to facilitate future installation of underground drainage, water-supply lines and electrical cables, and development of footpaths for the convenience of pedestrians.
The project will also include construction of RCC drains and culverts to ensure smooth flow of rainwater, installation of traditional streetlights along road medians and shifting of existing water-supply and underground drainage pipelines wherever necessary.
The works are expected to improve the overall quality and durability of major roads while enhancing traffic movement and the appearance of the city ahead of the Dasara festivities.
Aziz Sait Block Congress president Syed Iqbal, KPCC coordinator Shaukhat Ali Khan, Majid Ahmed, Nabijan, and leaders Noor Ahmed, Abdul Vaseem, Irfan, Syed Farooq, Aftab Afu, Akmal, Shakira Begum, N. Madegowda, Pradeep Chandra and others were present.
