D K Shivakumar
Deputy chief minister of Karnataka DK Shivakumar (Photo: ANI)
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said that the previous Siddaramaiah government feared criticism and did not go ahead with the proposed 6.7-km-long steel flyover from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal Junction in Bengaluru, but had been at the helm of affairs he would not have succumbed to pressure.
“Many give me suggestions of building tunnels and flyovers. In the previous Siddaramaiah regime, they wanted to build a steel bridge, but there was a huge uproar and outrage over it. Siddaramaiah and KJ George George got scared. if I were in their positions I would not have budged and gone ahead with it,” Shivakumar said. The proposed flyover, which was aimed at reducing traffic congestion, was estimated to cost around Rs. 1,800 crore and would have connected Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal Flyover and would be a 6.7 km steel flyover.
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But the proposal was met with protests from the Bangalore residents and their ‘Steel Flyover Beda’ protest in the year 2016.
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After having met with a huge backlash from the residents, Bangalore Development Authority in 2016 gave an undertaking to Karnataka High Court that it will not construct the proposed steel flyover in Bengaluru.
The authorities claimed that the proposed flyover would decongest the ride to the international airport located on the city’s outskirts.
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