BENGALURU: Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who inspected Phase 2B Metro project sites on Outer Ring Road (ORR) from Nagawara Junction to Bagalur Cross in his constituency on Wednesday, said it looks like work is being executed in the interests of contractors and not of the people.
Byre Gowda pulled up BMRCL officials for prolonged delays and sought to know why it took nearly two years to build a single pillar when it could be completed in two months. “Is it rocket science?” he said, pointing to barricaded stretches where little progress has been made.
The minister took the officials to task for allowing the contractors to occupy more road space, leading to severe traffic congestion on ORR.
Comparing the project work with Chennai Metro, he said they manage it with minimal traffic disruption. “Please go and see how efficiently they use road space and learn from them,” he told the officials while inspecting the Veerannapalya stretch.
Byre Gowda expressed concern over the slow progress of work, damaged roads, lack of drains, debris dumped on footpaths, and poorly managed traffic diversions that worsen congestion during peak hours. He instructed the contractors and officials of BMRCL and NHAI to clear the construction material and debris from the road immediately, restore usable service roads, and to maintain proper access points for vehicles.
The minister criticised the officials for parts of service roads and the main carriageway between Hebbal and Veerannapalya being shut for years to execute work on Metro pillars. He directed them to coordinate with their counterparts from other departments and complete the project at the earliest.