K'taka govt asked to prepare detailed project report to tackle traffic congestion in B'luru: DKShi
New Delhi (PTI): The Centre has asked the Karnataka government to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) to ease traffic congestion in Bengaluru, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said.
Shivakumar, who is in-charge of the Bengaluru Urban Development and Water Resources Ministries, discussed the traffic congestion issue with Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday.
Sharing the outcome of the meeting with reporters, Shivakumar said he discussed with the Union Minister ways to ease traffic in Bengaluru and also asked how the central government can support this issue.
"In a positive way, he (Gadkari) gave certain suggestions. He has asked us to prepare a DPR," he said.
Shivakumar said the state government has already invited Expression of Interest (EoI) with a proposal for construction of either a tunnel or flyover or any other means through which the traffic can be eased.
"After receiving the proposals, we will talk to the central government, which is ready to support," he added.
The Deputy CM said though Delhi and Mumbai also suffer from traffic congestion people don't talk about it.
The state government is getting ready to solve the traffic problem in Bengaluru. Around 10 companies, including one from Israel, have made presentations and they have been asked to participate in the bids, he said.
"The last date for submission of the EoI is August 8. Let all of them participate with international design and concept. We have decided to take this forward so that Bengaluru traffic congestion is eased," he added.
Besides this, Shivakumar also reviewed the status of inter-state water disputes with officials. He also reviewed status of 350 cases related to the state urban development ministry pending in Supreme Court.
Noting that some parts of Karnataka have not received good rains and farmers have demanded water for their crops, he said the government has decided to release 5,575 cusecs water from Tungabhadra river to certain districts in Karnataka.
Tungabhadra canal, which has a 105 tmc storage capacity, currently has 83 tmc of water, he added.
State cabinet minister Shivaraj Thangadagi has been appointed as chairman of the Tungabhadra Advisory Committee, he added.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
