MYSURU: Turning the dedication of National Highway projects into a political opportunity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the Grand Old Party and its allies want to dig his grave, but he wants to build top-quality infrastructure for the people of the country.
“They do not know that the people of India are my Suraksha Kavach. With projects like Sagarmala and Bharatmala, Karnataka and the country are transforming,” he said, while inaugurating National Highway projects of 210 km worth over Rs 12,000 crore, at Gejjalagere near Maddur in Mandya district.
Highlighting welfare projects taken up by his government during the inauguration of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, Modi said, “When the world was struggling with Covid, India increased its infrastructure budget by many times. Bengaluru and Mysuru are important cities in Karnataka. One is known for technology, while the other for tradition. It is quite significant to connect both the cities through technology.”
Starting his speech in Kannada, he recalled the contributions of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and Sir M Visvesvaraya and said that they are the sons of this land who gave ideas and power to the country and converted problems into opportunities.
“In the last few days, people have been talking about the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway. The people of India want such modern and splendid highways across the country. The expressway fills youth with pride and boosts connectivity across Karnataka. Good infrastructure enhances ease of living, creating new opportunities for progress,” he said.
Six-lane access controlled expressway inaugurated
The Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 during the then election campaign, was inaugurated on Sunday.
The six-lane project was done in two phases — Bengaluru to Nidaghatta section of NH-275 at a cost of Rs 4,429 crore with a length of 56.2 km and six laning of Nidaghatta to Mysuru section of NH-275 constructed at Rs 4,050.3 crore covering 61.1 km.
The project which commenced in May 2019 has 10 major bridges and 44 minor bridges, three flyovers and four ROBs. On the occasion, the foundation stone was laid for the construction of Mysuru to Kushalnagar four-lane road which has been taken up under four phases at a total cost of Rs 4,128 crore.