Deputy CM G. Parameshwar defends move to revive steel bridge
Bengaluru, Jan 3: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara Thursday defended the state government's decision to revive the multi-billion steel bridge project here which was shelved earlier following massic public protests.
Speaking to reporters, he said there was a need for the infrastructure project to tackle the growing traffic problem in the city.
Citing a projection that the city population may swell to two crores in 10 years, he said planning must be made keeping in mind the requirements for next 20 years.
Presently, around 75 lakh to 80 lakh vehicles plied on the city roads.
The government was only trying to find alternatives such as suburban rail, Metro Rail second and third phase and elevated roads, Parameshwara said adding the steel grade separator would definitely be useful.
Parameshwara had on January 1 announced the decision to revive the project.
The previous Siddaramaiah government had cleared the steel bridge from Chalukya Circle to Esteem Mall at an estimated cost of Rs 2,200 crore, but abandoned it after a public outcry over allegations of lack of transparency.
Calling it a 'steel monstrosity', critics of the project have said that the government would end up spending more on painting the structure to avoid it getting rusted.
They also said the flyover would take away the aesthetics of Bengaluru.
State BJP President B S Yeddyurappa had opposed the 'arbitrary' decision of the government to go ahead with the project, when environmentalists, urban experts and even H D Kumaraswamy, as state JD(S) president, had objected to it.
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UP: Passenger falls to death while spitting 'paan' from moving bus
Sultanpur (UP), Nov 30: A 45-year-old passenger fell to his death from an air-conditioned Uttar Pradesh roadways bus allegedly after he opened its door to spit 'pann' as the vehicle moved through the Purvanchal Expressway here on Saturday, police said.
The incident took place on the 93-km milestone of the expressway around 10.30 am when the bus was en route to Lucknow from Azamgarh.
"As the bus reached near Bihi village in the Baldirai police station area, a passenger opened the door of the moving bus to spit. He lost balance and fell onto the road, resulting in his death. He had opened the door to spit 'paan'," a police official said.
"The bus was stopped immediately, and Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) officials along with the police were informed," the official said.
Baldirai Station House Officer (SHO) Dheeraj Kumar said that UPEIDA personnel rushed the victim to the local Community Health Centre via ambulance, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
"The deceased was identified as Ram Jiavan, a resident of Chinhat area in Lucknow. His wife, Savitri, was also travelling with him on the bus," Kumar said.
He added that the bus has been taken to the police station for further investigation and the body has been sent for post-mortem.
