CM Bommai instructs officials to take steps to reduce traffic congestion in Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Jun 25: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday instructed the officials to take measures to reduce traffic congestion at 10 prominent spots in the city including Hebbal, Mahadevapura Outer Ring Road, Silk Board Junction and Whitefield Road, which witness huge traffic jams.
The Chief Minister wants the works to be supervised by Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) of the concerned area.
The measures would include synchronisation of traffic signals and removing the obstacles for smooth flow of vehicular traffic.
Instructing officials to clear the encroachments on arterial, sub-arterial and high density roads without showing any leniency and submit a report on the actions taken, he said, "I will again hold zone-wise meetings to review the actions taken."
Bommai chaired a meeting on traffic management in Bengaluru with officials of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Urban Development, Police and other departments.
He asked the officials of BBMP, BWSSB, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd (BESCOM) to work in coordination under the overall supervision of Additional Chief Secretaries of Urban Development and Home departments to formulate measures for easing traffic congestion in the city.
The Chief Minister issued strict orders for filling the potholes on roads connecting the national highways and taking up immediate repair work at about 50 spots that witness flooding whenever it rains, the CMO said in a release.
Asking officials to start the work on signal synchronisation in central business district (CBD), high traffic density corridors in the city, Bommai said the problem caused by frequent digging of roads by various civic agencies like BWSSB and BMRCL, leaving the debris without covering the dug-up roads also came up for discussion.
He also asked for the dug up roads to be re-laid properly and debris cleared immediately.
The Chief Minister asked DGP Praveen Sood to raise the strength of the Traffic Police personnel and focus on measures to ease traffic congestion, and the need to install cameras at traffic junctions under the Nirbhaya scheme was also stressed.
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Delhi Polls: BJP faces protest, placates MLA amid resentment over ticket distribution
New Delhi, Jan 12: Resentment surfaced in the BJP on Sunday over ticket distribution for Delhi Assembly polls, with a protest held outside its Delhi unit office and an angry outburst by the outgoing MLA from Karawal Nagar who was not included in the candidate list released a day earlier.
As MLA Mohan Singh Bisht threatened to revolt after being denied a ticket from Karawal Nagar, the party rushed to control the damage and announced his candidature from the Mustafabad seat this evening.
A group of protesters from Tughlakabad in South Delhi held a dharna at the gate of the Delhi BJP office, demanding a change in the candidate from the constituency.
"Vikram Bidhuri Tum Sangharsh Karo; Modi Se Bair Nahi, Rohtas Teri Khair Nahi," the protesters, including mostly youngsters, chanted as the party leaders tried to pacify them.
In the second list of BJP candidates for the polls declared on Saturday, Rohtas Bidhuri was fielded from the Tughlakabad seat. In 2020 Assembly polls, Vikram Bidhuri who is a relative of senior party leader Ramesh Bidhuri, lost to AAP's Sahiram by over 13,000 votes.
A similar protest was also held by some party workers outside the Delhi BJP office against Mehrauli candidate Gajainder Yadav after the announcement of the first list of candidates earlier this month.
Bisht, the senior-most BJP MLA in the outgoing Assembly elected five times from Karawal Nagar, openly expressed unhappiness over being denied the ticket to contest from his stronghold.
A senior party leader said he was pacified after a meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda.
Bisht, after getting the ticket from Mustafabad, expressed confidence that he would win the seat for the BJP.
"I met the national president and things were ironed out. I have assured that I will contest from Mustafabad and win the seat for the party," Bisht told PTI.
The MLA said he and the BJP had considerable support in Mustafabad and he has already attended two public meetings there.
The BJP won the Mustafabad seat, having a significant minority community presence, in the 2015 Assembly polls but lost it to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2020.
Earlier in the day, Bisht told PTI that the party's decision to replace him with Kapil Mishra was "wrong" and its consequences will be visible after voting on February 5.
"You have challenged the 'samaj' (his Uttarakhandi community), not Mohan Singh Bisht. The BJP will lose at least 8-10 seats because of this decision, including Karawal Nagar, Burari, Mustafabad and Gokalpuri," Bisht warned.
The BJP fielded Kapil Mishra, a Hindutva hardliner, from Karwal Nagar in North East Delhi, which was rocked by massive communal violence just after the 2020 Assembly polls.
Sources in the party claimed that there was also "deep resentment" among the Delhi BJP's Scheduled Castes Morcha leaders over being denied tickets from different constituencies including Madipur and Kondli.
A top Delhi BJP functionary stressed that there are many ticket aspirants, so it is natural for those who did not get selected to feel disappointed.
"The BJP is a disciplined party and its leaders understand this. Sooner or later, everyone will realise this and work for the victory of the party giving up their resentment," he said.
The elections to 70 Assembly seats in Delhi are scheduled on February 5. Results will be out after the counting of votes on February 8.
The BJP, out of power in Delhi since 1998, is making all-out efforts to return to power. In the 2015 and 2020 Assembly polls, the party was completely routed by the AAP, scraping through with just three and eight seats, respectively.
