Karnataka govt finally cancels Bengaluru steel flyover project

[email protected] (CD Network)
March 2, 2017

Bengaluru, Mar 2: The Karnataka government today decided to scrap the controversial Bengaluru steel flyover project that was aimed at decongesting the road that connects the city with its international airport and surrounding areas.steel

"...We have decided to cancel the steel bridge project. I have spoken to the Chief Minister, and the Chief Minister has agreed to it," Minister for Bengaluru Development and State Town Planning K J George told reporters here.

The Rs 1,800-crore project had been facing stiff opposition from citizen groups over environmental concerns and doubts over its sustainability model. Questions were also raised regarding escalation in its cost.

An estimated 812 trees would have had to be felled for the project that was stayed by the National Green Tribunal last year. Recent allegations of crores of rupees received as kick back in connection with the project, allegedly mentioned in diary entries of Congress MLC Govindaraju, had also marred the project.

Govindaraju's alleged diary entries, reportedly consisting of information relating to payoffs made by state Congress leaders to the party's central leaders, have kicked up a political storm in the state.

As the minister made the announcement of abandoning the project, a few Congress MLAs opposed the move in the presence of the media, calling it "anti-development". They demanded that a decision should not be taken in haste because of false allegations by BJP.

Responding to this, George said "....they (BJP) are making false allegations on government, they are doing it without any evidence. We don't want to construct this steel bridge with allegations of corruption."

BJP President B S Yeddyurappa had earlier alleged that those in the government, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, had "benefited from the project in the form of commissions and kickbacks."
Earlier in the day, to a question about the decision on scrapping the project, Siddaramaiah said the steel bridge was proposed to ensure less traffic for Benguluru residents.

"If Bengaluru people don't want, why do we want it?" he asked.

He said George was holding a meeting with city MLAs to seek their opinion on the project. Claiming victory over government's decision to drop the project, opposition BJP has now demanded a CBI inquiry.

"....finally it (government) has abandoned the steel bridge project which was full of corruption and loot. If CBI inquiry happens, all the allegations will be proved hundred per cent and the Chief Minister will have to resign. So fearing it, they have dropped the project", Yeddyurappa said.

He said the BJP will raise the issue during the Budget session of the legislature, starting from March 15. George said, "Earlier they had accused a minister of corruption, now they are saying the Chief Minister's family is involved....we don't want the steel bridge with allegations, we are here for the people. Give me evidence, I'm ready to resign and I'm ready for any punishment..."

"Give me suggestions, I’m ready to take. Those who are in favor of Bengaluru development, would not have opposed the project," he said.

Comments

Rikaz
 - 
Thursday, 2 Mar 2017

Rajesh, if you want to get a minister's like George you will have pray 1000 times....very clean politician....only states development is there in his mind....and does exactly that....

you go and check X CM Yeddi and all other his ministers...they have looted our country like hell....made our state treasury a big zero....

Rikaz
 - 
Thursday, 2 Mar 2017

Yaddi is hungry for power....may be before that his fate will also be like Sasikala of Tamilnadu..

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News Network
May 7,2020

Bengaluru, May 7: A 55-year old woman from Davanagere became the 30th COVID-19 related fatality in Karnataka, where a total number of infections has crossed 700-mark, with eight new positive cases being confirmed, the health department said on Thursday.

The deceased woman was a known case of diabetes and hypertension, she was admitted with a complaint of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and was on a ventilator, the department said in its mid-day situation update.

She died today at a designated hospital in Davanagere, it said.

"Eight new positive cases have been reported from last evening to this noon...

Till date 701 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 30 deaths and 363 discharges," the update said.

The eight new cases reported include three from Davangere, indulging the deceased patient; also three from Kalaburagi, and one each from Hirebagewadi in Belagavi district and Bengaluru urban.

While four cases are contacts of patients earlier tested positive, three are with the history of Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and one is a SARI case.

Five among eight new cases are women and three are men.

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News Network
April 7,2020

Mandya, Apr 7: A man who was suspected of having the COVID-19 infection, escaped from the isolation ward of the Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS), on Monday, creating panic among the people and hospital staff.

The man had earlier been in quarantine in Malavalli. On Sunday night He was shifted to MIMS Hospital, after he complained of throat infection and breathing problems and was kept in an isolation ward.

On Monday morning, however, the hospital staff found missing from the ward. They immediately reported the matter and launched a search for him. Superintendent of Police K Parashuram and Additional SP V J Shobharani and others rushed to the spot and began an inquiry. They also viewed the CCTV footage.

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News Network
January 24,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 24: The JD(S) is looking to leverage anti-Citizen (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) sentiment sweeping the country to revive itself and will hold protests in Bengaluru and New Delhi.

The Bengaluru protest is scheduled for Friday. At a meeting of party workers in Bengaluru on Thursday, party patriarch HD Deve Gowda and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy urged the rank and file to participate in the rally to send out a loud and clear message to the BJP.

"The BJP has set out to make Muslims second-grade citizens. India has 40 crore Muslims, can these communal forces eliminate them all?" Gowda said in his address. "We should have the guts to launch a massive protest at Jantar Mantar. We should be prepared to go to jail in the fight against [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi and [Union home minister] Amit Shah."

Gowda said he will lead the rally in Delhi and urged secular parties to unite to take on the BJP. "It is important that regional parties, which share a secular ideology, unite on a common agenda and fight the BJP. Bihar, Kerala and Odisha have said they will not implement CAA. The sentiment is likely to spread to other states," Gowda said.

Kumaraswamy said not only Muslims but many other communities will also bear the brunt of BJP’s "divisive politics". "This pair of Hakka-Bukka [Modi and Shah] is not targeting Muslims alone," he said. "For them, all communities other than upper caste Hindus are inferior Shudras. They will treat even Lingayats, Vokkaligas and Dalits with the same contempt."

The former CM made a special appeal to Lingayats, who generally back the BJP, to stop supporting the saffron party’s caste-oriented politics. "You had appreciated my farm loan waiver scheme and promised support in the elections. But, the results were contrary to that," he said.

The JD(S) passed three resolutions including one to condemn the Centre for enacting CAA. The others were to protest against the Centre’s indifference to the floods in the state and the failed economic policy of the Centre.

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