CM pulls up civic agencies for failing to finish pending road work during lockdown

Bengaluru: Even as Bengaluru went into a lockdown, the Karnataka government allowed civic works and the industries remain functional in a bid to ensure pending civic works in the city are completed during the period

Bengaluru: Even as Bengaluru went into a lockdown, the Karnataka government allowed civic works and the industries remain functional in a bid to ensure pending civic works in the city are completed during the period. However, a review meeting conducted by Karnataka chief minister last week revealed that most of the civic projects in the city are behind schedule.

HT Image

During the review meeting held on June 11, chief minister BS Yediyurappa pulled up the city civic body officials. “Though I have instructed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to complete the 27 smart city projects by May 31 before the monsoon sets in, the works are incomplete, as evident from piles of mud and craters on both sides of the roads,” he said at a review meeting with civic officials.

As the southwest monsoon has arrived and is set to intensify in the ensuing weeks, the chief minister sought a reply from BBMP commissioner Gaurav Gupta by when the pending works would be completed. “I have daily observed that the incomplete road works in the city’s central business district are a hindrance to the public and for VIP movement. They are a hurdle for the movement of people and vehicles,” he said.

The chief minister however said that he has given a priority list to the BBMP following his inspections in February, March. Expressing his disappointment over the slow progress of the projects, CM asked these projects to be completed within the deadline.

Yediyurappa also reviewed the expansion of the metro rail network across the city and the suburban train service project, which have been delayed due to the lockdown. The second phase of the metro rail project is under construction to extend the service by 66 km at a cost of ₹33,070 crore.

“As the metro service cannot become profitable only through fare collection, commercial spaces along its lines and stations should be utilised to generate income,” Yediyurappa told the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd officials.

However, a BBMP official said that the lack of contract workers has delayed construction works. “Even though the government allowed the construction work to continue, as soon as the lockdown was announced several migrant workers left the city. There was a shortage of workers across the state, and this slowed down work. The numbers are slowly coming back now, and we hope to finish the work in time,” said the official who didn’t want to be named.

Meanwhile, the Bengaluru police raised the matter of delay in construction works in the city with the chief minister. A senior officer said that since several industries are opening up in phase one of the unlock, the unfinished civic work will result in slow-moving of traffic. “In several areas, our officers had to worksites to get material removed from the road. But since a large portion of the road is occupied by this work, it is difficult to manage the traffic,” said a senior traffic police officer.