George’s day out: inspects projects, raps officials

During inspection that lasted for more than four hours, minister sought deadlines for major infra projects, including the long-pending Okalipuram 8-lane corridor

The work on underpass near Vivekananda College has been posing a hurdle for motorists and pedestrians | express

BENGALURU: Time: 6.30am, Monday. Bengaluru Development Minister K J George and his team start from the BBMP head office on a marathon inspection of the city’s long-pending infrastructure projects.
What is the deadline? Expedite work.

This was George’s refrain during the four-and-a-half hour inspection. Not pleased with the progress of some projects, George cracked the whip and asked officials to finish the works at the earliest.

He was accompanied by Mayor G Padmavathi, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad, Urban Development Additional Chief Secretary Mahendra Jain and other officials of BBMP, BDA and BWSSB.

He first visited the site of the long-pending Okalipuram eight-lane corridor work. He set the tone for the rest of the visits by asking for a deadline and urging the contractor and on-site engineers to speed up the work. Progress of construction is now visible at the site, and the December deadline given by officials looks possible.

George was assured that the first phase of the project, which includes two loops and one underpass, would be completed by the end of August and the rest by end of December. Local MLA Dinesh Gundurao was also present at the site.

The initial estimated cost of the project was `102 crore, but as per some reports, it has escalated to over `220 crore. Bengalureans too would welcome the project’s completion as traffic snarls are an everyday occurrence on Okalipuram Main Road, which connects West Bengaluru with the rest of the city.

The team then visited the site of the grade separators along West of Chord Road, which consist of two flyovers and two underpasses, covering 1.6km. George expressed displeasure at the pace of work. The contractor said work could be completed by March 2018. 

The minister visited several other sites of major projects and enquired about the progress and completion time.

He questioned officials of civic agencies responsible for the projects. In addition, he also made suggestions of new projects to officials, including a facelift for the median near Shanthala Circle and a park nearby.