Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway will be ready by March next year: Nitin Gadkari
Bengaluru, Jan 5: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the new greenfield project- Bengaluru to Chennai Expressway at a cost of Rs 17,000 crore will be ready by March 2024.
The 285.3 km four-lane project will help save travel time, Gadkari told reporters after inspecting the project at Vadaganahalli near Hoskote on the city outskirts.
This will also help avoid delay in passing through major towns and congested areas, the Minister added.
"This Bharatmala project in Karnataka covering 71.7 km will cost Rs 5,069 crore," Gadkari said.
"By making this road we will reduce the logistic costs. Already 231 km construction is underway. By March, 2024 we want to complete this project," he added.
Gadkari said there is a forest land involved in this project regarding which he has spoken to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai for all clearances.
He also said an Amrit Mahotsav Bird Sanctuary and an Amrit Sarovar will also come up on this stretch.
Regarding Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway, the Union Minister said it will be ready by next month and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate it. The project once completed will reduce the travel time by one hour, 10 minutes.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will also take up the deepening of lakes as part of water conservation, Gadkari said.
Land acquisition is a major challenge before the NHAI due to high land value, he pointed out.
In order to minimise traffic congestion and pollution in Bengaluru, Gadkari recommended satellite townships along these highways.
According to him, the NHAI is taking up 8,005 km long projects in Karnataka worth Rs two lakh crore.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
