Modi lays stone for 118-km expressway, other projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also laid the foundation stone for Mysuru-Kushalnagar’s four-lane highway. Spread over 92 km, the project will be developed for around ₹4,130 crores. The project will play a key role in boosting the connectivity of Kushalnagar with Bengaluru and will help halve the travel time from about 5 to only 2.5 hours.

Ahead of the assembly elections in Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 118 km-long Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway project in Mandya on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 118 km-long Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway project in Mandya (PTI)

The project is expected to reduce the travel time between the two cities from around three hours to about 75 minutes, according to officials.

The ₹8,480 crore project involved six-laning of the Bengaluru-Nidaghatta-Mysuru section of NH-275 and will act as a catalyst for socio-economic development in the region, officials said.

The high-speed corridor is built in two separate phases, measuring 61 km between Nidaghatta and Mysore and 58 km between Bengaluru and Nidaghatta. The highway has elevated corridors that are 8 km long, 42 small bridges, 64 underpasses, 11 overpasses, four Road-Over-Bridges (ROBs), and five bypasses.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for Mysuru-Kushalnagar’s four-lane highway. Spread over 92 km, the project will be developed for around ₹4,130 crores. The project will play a key role in boosting the connectivity of Kushalnagar with Bengaluru and will help halve the travel time from about 5 to only 2.5 hours.

Addressing the gathering, Modi said all the projects would pave the way for “sabka saath, sabka vikas”, emphasising that good infrastructure enhances the “ease of living”, and creates new opportunities for progress.

“The state-of-the-art road infrastructure projects being launched today in Karnataka will boost connectivity across the state and strengthen economic growth. All these projects will further speed up development and open the way for prosperity. All these projects will pave way for ‘sabka saath, sabka vikaas’,” Modi said.

Further, the Prime Minister noted that Bengaluru and Mysuru are important cities in Karnataka, adding that “One is known for technology while the other is known for tradition. It is quite significant to connect both the cities through technology.”

Ahead of the inauguration, Modi held a mega roadshow in Mandya, where he received a grand welcome from BJP workers and supporters. Thousands of people lined up along the streets of Mandya to welcome the Prime Minister, who undertook a 2-km roadshow. This is his sixth visit to the poll-bound state in the last two months.

Modi’s visit to the Old Mysuru region, a Vokkaliga community-dominated district, largely seen as a bastion of JD(S), where the Congress too is strong, is of political significance for the ruling BJP, ahead of Assembly polls. The saffron party is attempting to make inroads into the region, aiming to win more seats in the Vokkaliga-dominated belt and return to power with an absolute majority.

Recently, an independent Lok Sabha MP from Mandya, Sumalatha, extended her support to the BJP, raising questions about further consolidation of the Vokkaliga vote bank to the BJP. Interestingly, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha’s name was missing from the inauguration plaque, while Sumalatha, who extended support to the BJP found mention.

During his address, Modi also hit out at the Congress, alleging that the party is busy “digging his grave” while he is busy building the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway and easing the lives of the poor.

“Congress is dreaming of ‘digging Modi’s grave’ but they don’t know that blessings of mothers, sisters and people of the country work as a protection shield for me. They (Congress) leaders are busy dreaming of ‘digging Modi’s grave’ while I’m is busy building Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway and improving the lives of the poor,” PM Modi said. “Before 2014, the Congress government at the Centre left no stone unturned to ruin poor people. Congress government looted the money which was for poor people,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Kodagu ex-service personnel association has opposed the four-lane Expressway between Mysuru and Kushalnagar, claiming the project will destruct the fragile ecosystem of their homeland. Addressing a press conference in Mysuru on Sunday, hours before the inauguration, Col. CP Muthanna, former President of Coorg Wildlife Society and a member of the association urged the Prime Minister to shelve the project.

“Though the tiny district of Kodagu has contributed hundreds of officers who have reached top posts, their homeland continues to be systematically destroyed by a series of development projects and conversion of agriculture and plantation lands for commercial purposes,” Col. Muthanna said.

The Prime Minister also dedicated the much-awaited IIT Dharwad to the nation on Sunday.

The foundation stone for the institute was also laid by him in February 2019. Developed at a cost of over ₹850 crores, the institute currently offers a 4-year B.Tech programme, an inter-disciplinary five-year BS-MS program, M.Tech. and PhD programs.