Minister for Urban Development B.S. Suresh said the State government looking forward to taking up development projects in Mysuru enable the city to grow as Bengaluru’s twin city.
Mr. Suresh arrived in Mysuru on Monday and held discussions with officials with regard to progress of work on the preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for a flyover at the Manipal Hospital junction on Bengaluru-Mysuru highway and a Peripheral Ring Road, besides a group housing project proposed by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), told reporters that the city was growing at a very fast pace and there was a need to resolve the traffic woes plaguing the people.
As Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also hails from Mysuru, is of the opinion that Mysuru should be developed as a twin city of Bengaluru, the government is planning to construct about four to five flyovers at a cost of ₹2,500 to ₹3,000 crores, he said.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has already taken up a proposal to construct a flyover at the Manipal Hospital junction on Bengaluru-Mysuru highway. The preparation of the DPR for the flyover is underway and the work on its construction will have to start soon.
Mr. Suresh acknowledged the traffic snarls that had become common at the junction particularly after the highway was expanded into a ten-lane expressway and thrown open to traffic earlier this year.
Meanwhile, during the meeting, Mr. Suresh asked the NHAI officials to ensure that construction of the flyover is scientific.
The Minister for Urban Development said he also expected the Peripheral Ring Road - with a proposed length of around 73 km around the city - will reduce the pressure on the Outer Ring Road and contribute to resolving the traffic woes of the city to a certain extent.
The farmers, who lose their land for the Peripheral Ring Road, will be given either the market value of the property or alternate land, he said.
Minister for Social Welfare H.C. Mahadevappa, who is also the Minister in charge of Mysuru district, emphasised the need for conducting a survey of the traffic volume on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway by counting the number of vehicles that were proceeding towards T. Narsipura, Nanjangud, and Hunsur from Bengaluru.
Such a survey, he felt would help the authorities, take up necessary traffic infrastructure work on the Outer Ring Road and the service roads.
With Mysuru district growing at a fast pace, Mr. Mahadevappa said the roads and flyovers should be planned to keep the anticipated development for next 20 years in mind.
He also asked the officials to come up with plans for construction of skywalks wherever they were necessary in the city.
Chamaraja MLA Harish Gowda, Secretary to the Department of Urban Development Ajay Nagbhushan, Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru K.V. Rajendra, City Police Commissioner Ramesh B., MUDA Commissioner Dinesh Kumar, Mysuru City Corporation Commissioner Ashaad Ur Rahman, and NHAI officials were also present at the meeting.
