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
February 25,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 25: A day after Karnataka minister BC Patil felt the need for a law to shoot people who raise pro-Pakistan and anti-India slogans, another BJP MLA on Monday said such people should be shot at sight or exiled to the neighbouring country.

Appachu Ranjan, MLA from Madikeri, said a woman named Amulya had raised Pakistan Zindabad slogan at Bengaluru during a CAA-related meeting.

"People saying Pakistan Zindabad, despite living in our country- eating food and drinking water available here- they should be shot at sight. Or else such people should be exiled to Pakistan, and no one should should show softness towards them and fight cases in their favour," he said at Somwarpet in Kodagu.

Amulya Leona, a woman who raised pro-Pakistan slogans at an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act rally in Bengaluru on Thursday, has been booked for sedition and remanded to judicial custody.

She had raised "Pakistan Zindabad" slogans thrice after the organisers, under the banner of "Save the Constitution", invited her to address the gathering in the presence of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

Agriculture minister Patil on Sunday had expressed the need for a legislation to shoot such people, and said he would make a request to the prime minister in this regard. "A law should be brought in the country that who ever raises slogans against India and in favour of Pakistan, they should be shot at sight. Bringing such a law is important," Patil had said.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 26,2020

Bengaluru, May 26: The Karnataka government has decided cancel summer vacation for undergraduate and post-graduate students and universities during the 2020-21 academic year in the wake of severe academic loss due to COVID-19 lockdown.

Keeping in mind the loss of academic days due to the lockdown to contain the pandemic, the Higher Education Department has decided to go in for ‘Zero Vacation’. 

The state government decided to cancel all holidays particularly the summer holidays after holding a series of meetings with the Vice Chancellors and other academicians from various parts of the state.

The decision was also communicated during the review meeting of the Higher Education Department held by CM Yediyurappa on Tuesday in Bengaluru.

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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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