Bengaluru: Tardy pace of Church Street work - KJ George pulls up babus
During inspection, Mr George expressed his displeasure at the slow pace and was concerned about its completion by August.
Bengaluru: Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George inspected ongoing developmental works at Church Street Road and was very upset with the slow progress, mainly due to lack of cooperation from the shopkeepers.
Comprehensive development of 715-metre long Church Street was taken up under the TenderSure project at a cost of Rs 9 crore. The works began in March, 2017 and was set to get over within six months. During inspection, Mr George expressed his displeasure at the slow pace and was concerned about its completion by August.
When the engineers concerned told the minister about their difficulty in shifting utilities as the road was narrow and busy during weekends, Mr George advised them to work on shift round the clock to meet the August deadline.
When the workers complained about lack of cooperation from the shopkeepers on the stretch, Mr George asked the BBMP officials to issue notices to the shops to cooperate. "If they do not fall in line, close the shop for duration of the project," he directed.
Kino theatre underpass
The minister also inspected the ongoing works to prevent flooding at Kino Theatre underpass. It gets flooded every time the city receives rain.
Officials attributed the delay in fixing the problem to the presence of hard rock during excavation to build storm water disposal drain at the railway under bridge, near Kino theatre at Sheshadripuram.
They also blamed the police, Bescom and KPTCL for the delay. The Rs 3-crore project commenced in March 2017 to divert the problematic storm water from the under bridge to the nearby Rajiv Gandhi statue. Of the proposed 820-metre long drain only 500 metres has been constructed so far. The minister has assured that the work will be completed within a month.
Stone laid for Kalasipalya market
The Minister laid the foundation stone for renovation of Kalasipalya market on Thursday. This age old market is notorious for garbage heaps and foul smell. Under the project estimated at Rs 10 crore, the ceiling of market's A, B and C blocks will be dismantled and leakages will be plugged. The market will also have a compound wall, security grill, three toilet blocks and a sump.