Mysore became the first city in the country to have a bus stand modernised under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Reconstruction Mission (JNNURM) today.
The Rs 11.50 crore City Bus Stand (CBS) upgraded within nine months was commissioned by transport minister R Ashok. In view of the political developments in Bangalore, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, scheduled to inaugurate the bus stand, left Mysore around midnight.
Ashok said, the Centre had appreciated the fast pace at which the Mysore bus stand project was executed and recommended to other states to adopt the Mysore CBS model, which had facilities like subways, bus bays just as in international airports and platforms inspired by the palace fort architecture.
He said the CBS would be expanded on the adjoining one acre with the Rs 4 crore saved from the Rs 15.97 crore allocated for the CBS, soon after the court verdict.
The Rs 23.53 crore KSRTC mofussil bus stand, Rs 34.84 crore Sathagalli, Rs 18.36 crore Kuvempunagar, Rs 6 crore R S Naidu Nagar, Rs 6.01 crore Yelwal, Rs 3.82 crore Chamundi Hill, were the other JNNURM bus stand projects in Mysore work on which were on at a brisk pace.
Similarly, work on bus stands at H D Kote (Rs 11.7 crore), K R Nagar (Rs 1.47 crore), Kittur (Rs 28.5 lakh) and Bannur (Rs 59.67 lakh) were progressing fast. The KSRTC was spending in all Rs 109 crore on these projects.
“In Bangalore, we are spending Rs 450 crore on 10 projects. The work on Jayanagar Bus stand has been completed and rest of the projects are nearing completion,” he said.
Ashok, who is also KSRTC chairman, said almost all state transport services, even abroad, were running under loss, while KSRTC was the only service which was earning profit and consequently stood first in the country and fourth globally.
Mysore MP A H Viswanath said the JNNURM projects in Mysore, for which the Centre had allocated Rs 2,000 crore, hardly made any progress, except in the transport sector of the KSRTC. While the ring road project was in the tender stage, rest of the projects, tourism projects for which Rs. 65 crore were provided, had not been planned at all.
“Surprisingly, there is no technical committee for the projects that should be sanctioning and executing the JNNURM projects,” he said adding he had asked the chief minister to immediately appoint an official for executing the JNNURM projects in Mysore.
