7,110 km rural roads to be rebuilt will be completed in 1.5 years: Minister Priyank Kharge
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said the state government aims to complete all 7,110 km of rural roads being rebuilt under the ‘Pragathi Patha’ scheme within the next 1.5 years.
Responding to a question raised by Congress MLA K M Shivalinge Gowda during the question hour in assembly, he said delays occurred after the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is funding the project, has raised objections to 293 roads selected by the state government under the scheme.
"Pragati Patha will probably build the biggest rural road network in the country, covering 7,110 km at a cost of Rs 5,180 crore. The project includes Rs 3,242 crore in external funding from ADB, while our (govt) share is Rs 1,443 crore. We have set aside Rs 504 core for maintenance," Kharge said.
Noting that 1,356 roads have been identified across constituencies, he said the ADB has raised objections to 293 roads, which are in Bengaluru Rural, Chamarajanagar, Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts.
"Their (ADB) objections are that these roads come under eco-sensitive zones, reserve forests, they are prone to human-animal conflict, and they contain excess length and face right-of-way issues," he added.
Despite this, detailed project reports (DPRs) have been prepared for 999 roads and 573 are ready for tenders, the Minister said adding, "probably within the next 1-1.5 months, tenders will be floated."
"There has been some delay as the ADB's guidelines are a bit tight. They want 30 percent of the DPRs to be submitted, before the loan negotiations... we are on track," he said.
Assuring that 7,110 km of roads in the rural areas will be completed in the next 1.5 years. Kharge said it will be executed in line with the guidelines.
Responding to a question on concerns raised by BJP MLA Sunil Kumar on objections from the ADB, he said, "We have informed the ADB team that these roads aren’t new, they have existed for 50 years and are motorable... ADB is going into the detailed assessments -- they are looking at bird migratory patterns along the stretch, among other things.”
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
