CM Bommai plans 4 new satellite towns around Bengaluru, 6 integrated cities in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday mooted the idea of building four new Bengalurus around Bengaluru' and six integrated towns in Karnataka.
Foreseeing that Bengaluru's population will go up to around three to four crores in 2040 from the existing 1.3 crores, Bommai opined that the city should be developed like a planet surrounded by satellites.
Bengaluru should be, according to me, like a planet where there will be satellite towns along with the best of connectivity with rail, road, hi-tech travel systems and easy mode of transportation for the passengers, Bommai said during the Bengaluru 2040 Summit, which was organised by Deccan Herald.
Elaborating further, he said there was a need to create infrastructure for connecting Bengaluru and develop a new Bengaluru'.
At least four new Bengalurus have to be built around Bengaluru and in between these four, we can have different types of activities such as health city and integrated industrial township, including those related to aerospace and defence related industry, the Chief Minister said.
According to him, these satellite towns will have all the amenities. Bommai opined that the time was ripe for Bengaluru to go vertical as the city has grown horizontally enough and added new localities.
Introducing a new slogan Nava Karnataka Dinda Nava Bharata' (New India through New Karnataka), Bommai said he is planning six new integrated cites in the state.
Noting that he has introduced many novel proposals and schemes in the state budget that were missing in the previous budgets, the Chief Minister said: "One of the new things is I am planning to build six new cities in the state. These will be integrated townships. They will be the models for building cities in a planned manner.
The Chief Minister told the gathering that his government will create six Karnataka Institutes of Technology on the lines of the Indian Institutes of Technology for those students who cannot make it to these premier institutions.
Bommai also apprised the audience that he is planning to 'unlock' land for the poor people to have their own houses.
With regard to Mekedatu balancing reservoir project across Cauvery river, which the lower riparian state Tamil Nadu is opposed to, Bommai said his government is working on it.
We will shortly get the DPR ready and the process of the environmental clearance will be started. That's why I have kept money (Rs 1,000 crore in the 2022-23 budget). I am confident that we will start the Mekedatu project this year. Once that is done, a long term plan for Bengaluru can be done, he said.
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Idukki: Congress leader quits in protest against party's stance on Waqf Bill
Idukki (Kerala), Apr 4 (PTI): A local Congress leader in this hill district on Friday resigned from the grand old party in protest against its stance on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
Benny Peruvanthanam, general secretary of the Idukki District Congress Committee (DCC), resigned from the party, accusing it of neglecting the Christian minority and taking a pro-Muslim stance on the Munambam issue.
"Congress has neglected the Christian minority community for years, while only appeasing Muslims. In protest of this approach, I am resigning from the Congress party," Benny told reporters.
He stated that he had raised the issue within party forums and urged for changes, but no action was taken.
"The situation has reached a point where it’s impossible to move forward, so I have resigned from the post of DCC secretary and from the party as well," he added.
Peruvanthanam also criticised the Congress leadership for its negative stance regarding the concerns raised by the KCBC and Catholic Church organisations. However, he stated that he has not aligned with any other political party now.
The Congress leadership has yet to comment on the matter.
The Munambam residents, strongly supported by the Catholic Church, have been protesting for the past 174 days for revenue rights over their properties, allegedly claimed by the Waqf Board.
The Christian community has significant influence in the Idukki district.
