Monorail to
arrive much before Metro
Source : Indian
Express
Date: 30 May 2006
The Monorail project
has overtaken the Bangalore Metro, which still seems entangled in
bureaucratic red tape and land acquisition problems.
If Chief Minister
H.D. Kumaraswamy’s recent statements on the Monorail are anything
to go by, the first phase of the project will be ready in the next
18 months. Work on the 18 km-route from Jaraganahalli in Banashankari
III Stage to Cantonment railway station will start in August and will
be completed in a year, the CM has said, making it very clear that
the Government is trying to push Monorail.
However, work on
the first phase of the Metro project from MG Road to NGEF, a 7 km stretch,
is likely to start only in August, that too after the State and Centre
sign an MoU to create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). “Even if
the work starts on time, it will take around three years to complete
and by that time, Monorail will be operational,” sources told this
website's newspaper.
That apart, acquisition
of private lands on CMH Road and Indiranagar also threatens to delay
the Metro, if not derail it. While the CM is yet to show the green
signal for the acquisition of private lands, some property owners
may even approach the courts if the government decides to acquire
their lands without offering a proper rehabilitation package.
On the contrary,
the Government has made up its mind to go ahead with the Monorail
project to be implemented by a private agency. “The first phase
of the Monorail will be taken up as a pilot project for technology
demonstration. The Government can sign an MoU with the private firm
and go ahead,” sources said.
The Monorail,
according to its promoters, does not require any lands and the Government
will not invest any money in it. All that they require is a letter
of intent asking them to take up the project.
However, some
senior officials question the Government’s intentions for showing
keen interest in a project that will be implemented by a private firm
and not in its own project which is being delayed for several years.
The delay is resulting in escalation of the project cost, which now
stands around Rs 6,400 crore.
Besides, the government
is not even waiting for the completion of the comprehensive traffic
and transport study that had been started with the sole purpose of
identifying routes for different mass transit systems depending on
the traffic flow.
Road connectivity to City to improve
Source : Deccan
Herald
Date: 25 May 2006
‘Decongest Bangalore’ is the slogan of the IT City succumbing
to a maze of narrow rugged roads. But the drive into ‘Destination
Bangalore’ from any corner of the country seems to be only getting
smoother. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has lined
up some mega projects to boost the network of roads leading into the
city.
Soon, a six-lane
Elevated Highway along NH-4 will link the Bangalore City to Nelamangala
and in the process decongest the Jalahalli Cross (Peenya-Dasarahalli
intersection). While, the much-hyped NH-7 project connecting Central
Silk Board road to Electronics City will begin by the end of July
2006. The project will be partly funded by the Centre and State, which
has committed nothing less than Rs 40 crore to strengthen three major
roads. According to senior NHAI officials, three stretches - Attibele
intersection to Varthur (via Sarjapur), Chandapura-Dommasandra and
Attibele-Anekal-Bannerghatta Meenakshi Temple, will be strengthened
to increase their carrying capacity and divert the heavy vehicular
traffic till the project is completed.
The other two
projects include four-laning of the road linking KR Puram to Hospet
on the Bangalore to Pune (Old Madras road - NH4) and Nelamangala-
Hassan road on NH-48. The four-laning on the Bellary road (Devanahalli)
is almost complete, say NHAI officials.
Elevated Highways
Fly-overs only
shift the traffic bottlenecks further as it caters to an immediate
need and the expansion of the city in future pose similar problems.
The Elevated Highway over Jalahalli cross was conceived after the
traffic volumes kept swelling.
According to a
NHAI study, the highway witnesses a traffic volume of 1,30,000 PCUs
(passenger car units) - almost double the tolerance level. Normally,
a road with a traffic volume exceeding 60,000 PCUs calls for elevation
to increase the carrying capacity as road widening is not possible.
Elevation helps separate out the ‘through traffic’ and the
‘local traffic’.
BOT to tackle
challenges
Problems of land
acquisition in isolated pockets and sudden hike in land prices after
project approval have delayed some projects.
A major hurdle
is also the fear of hefty user charge (toll fee) levied on the Common
Man. NHAI’s unique concept of creating four or six-laned elevated
highways, along with retaining the ground level roads gives the consumer
a choice.
An Elevated Highway
costs Rs 40 crore per km, while the ground level costs Rs 5 crore
per km. Yet, the "build, operate, transfer" (BOT) models
can garner funds through designated contractor, who invests and develops
the infrastructure. We have access controlled highways with service
lanes that plug multiple exit and entry points.
No competition
between Metro and Mono’
Source : Deccan
Herald
Date: 20 May 2006
As Bangalore continues
to debate on the Monorail, a presentation on Friday by a specialist
transport solutions company on monorail downplayed the Metro or Mono
question.
In a presentation
madeto senior engineers and former bureaucrats, Mr Srinidhi Anantharaman,
MD of Geodesic Techniques said Monorail worked best as a complementary
feeder to MRTS.
“Metro is
indeed a great thing to have happened to Bangalore. It’s going
to be a backbone system, taking care of the mass movement in the City
while monorail will be the system which disburses this mass movement.
There is no room for competition here,” said Mr Ananatharaman,
who hasled his company’s presentations on monorail in Delhi.
During his presentation,
Mr Srinidhi Anantharaman pointed out the posi tive changes a monorail
network could bring about in Bangalore. “Monorail isnot amusement
park material as noted in some con texts. It’s a highly effective
people mover system and in the Indian context, it’s going to
make a great difference, considering the diver sity and population
of this country,” he said.
In a discussion
that followed, senior engineers raised apprehensions about certain
facets of monorail, including the system’s adaptability to Indian
conditions and the pricing system. There were also contentions that
monorail car capacities could be considerably less than the figures
presented in India.
Bangalore
to have more Malls
Source
: Indian Express
Date : 30 March 2006
As
the city's malls are becoming hotspots for Bangalore's cool crowd,
the managements of these mega one-stop arcades are in expansion mode
and are planning big.
Rohit
Saxena, assistant manager of IDEB Group, which owns Sigma Mall on
Cunningham Road, says the company plans to open a mall on the outer
ring road, near Marathahalli.
The
new mall, to be appropriately christened Grand is due to come up by
mid-2008, and will have a five star hotel and a software park.
Guruda
Mall is not to be left behind. Says Chief Administrative officer I
S K Pillai a second mall, Garuda Swagath Mall, will take shape in
Jayanagar, with the hope of luring the residents of Jayanagar, JP
Nagar and BTM Layout. The new Garuda project is expected to be open
to the public by the end of 2008.
Lido
is also coming up with a mall shortly. The UB Group is also planning
a foray into the mall business with a venture in UB City near Mallya
Road.
Forum
has expansion plans and hopes to open two more malls in Whitefield,
both expected to be ready by 2008. One will be lcoated in Shantiniketan
on Whitefield Road and the other will be mainly a factory outlet on
Varthur Main Road. The two new malls will have hyper markets and multiplexes
too, says Mohammed Ali, Manager Mall Leasing and Tenant Relations,
Forum.
With
malls multiplying in the city and competition taking a steep climb,
managements are also studying visitors and planning innovative features
to attract people. Visit the city's malls and you will notice that
the food outlets and the multiplexes are the most popular. Because
of this, malls are concentrating on these areas.
While
Sigma Mall is considering the incorporation of its own multiplex Xenon
Screens, Garuda Mall will open an outlet of the Mumbai-based Kobe
restaurant, which is known for the use of special sauces in its dishes.
Those wishing to dine in this restaurant will have to make reservations
three days in advance.
Talking
of another exclusive feature, Pillai says Garuda Mall will soon have
a three star hotel in its building. The property will be opened in
about 6 months and will specially cater to the business class.
Eva
on the other hand stands out from other malls as it is exclusively
for women and children, says Praveen, Group manager for crisis handling.
If Eva goes on to add a cinema it will bring in more people and the
mall would lose its uniqueness. As such Eva, which has a number of
games for children, would rather concentrate on adding more recreation
for children.
Another
effort to attract people to the malls has been brand promotions, music
programmes and shopping contests and shopping festivals. According
to Veena, Forum's Marketing Executive, the mall organises many a live
band show and uses its promotional space for product launches, product
promotions and awareness programmes. Forum also organises The Forum
festival during its lean season. Pillai talks of the promos they organise
on weekends and the Garuda fest that began on Ayudha Pooja and went
on till New Year.
Blueprint
for Greener Bangalore
Source
: Deccan Herald
Date: 20 March 2006
On
Friday, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike dedicated to Bangaloreans,
the 84.5-acre Jayaprakash Narayan Park at Mathikere. Chief Minister
H D Kumaaraswamy, who released a booklet on Greener Bangalore on the
occasion, noted that the Urban Development Department would be directed
to initiate such green projects in other cities across the state as
well.
Greener
Bangalore project, kickstarted last year, includes development of
one park in every ward, tree planting on avenues and sidewalks, and
development of green aesthetics in traffic islands.
Partnerships
Promoting
public-private partnerships and participation of citizens and resident
welfare associations are also said to be among its objectives.
The
chief minister handed over certificates confirming such participatory
initiatives to four parks on the occasion.
They
include a Lions Club unit at Cambridge Layout, Swabhimanaa Initiative
at Koramangala and a residents’ group at RT Nagar.
According
to DCF and BMP tree officer, Krishna Udupudi, the tender process has
been completed for most of the envisaged tree parks and theme parks.
Physical estimates of the plans under the project are ready and an
increase in the allocation for horticulture in the forthcoming BMP
budget should see the project through in the next year, he said.
The
BMP will be in charge of the works falling within its geographical
boundary, and the BDA for those in the city municipal councils.
The
JP Park inaugurated on Sunday is a bio-diversity park and the third
largest public green space in Bangalore, next only to Lalbagh and
Cubbon Park. Its development was a long-drawn-out affair. The foundation
stone was laid in 1987 by the then chief minister Ramakrishna Hedge.
Little progress was registered till 1997. Later, the J H Patel government
revived it under the Mega City project.
Ever
wondered why Brand Bangalore didn’t attract Bush?
Source
: New Indian Express
Date: 06 March 2006
Is
Brand Bangalore slowly fading away? When the ‘most powerful person
on earth’ - that is how Americans love to etch the image of their
President in the minds of others - skips Bangalore and is seen brushing
shoulders with a buffalo or trying to lift a pumpkin in sun-baked
Hyderabad, many in Bangalore must be wondering why Bush did not log
in to India’s Silicon Plateau.
At
least he did remember the city in the fag end of his tour when he
said that “all that separates a business in Bangalore from a
business in Boston is an email, a text message or video conference.”
While
the Russian President and most European heads of State came to Bangalore
to shake hands with IT honchos, take a glimpse of the boom in the
city and ink pacts, Bush, like his predecessor Bill Clinton, preferred
to stay away.
This
is no barometer for a city’s global image, but it is indeed a
warning bell.
Bangalore
has been having a dream run so far, but no more. In Greek mythology,
when gods wanted to teach a lesson to a moral, it was not through
bucket full of denials or sorrow.
It
was by over-fulfilling his wishes, desires or dreams. Midas, the king
of Phrygia, was an example. He was granted the gift of converting
all he touched to gold. He soon regretted his gift, as his food and
drink were also turned to gold.
Bangalore’s
prosperity too has shades of Midas - too much of wealth but too little
avenues to grow. Much has been written about Bangalore’s crumbling
and creaking infrastructure.
Chief
Minister H D Kumaraswamy had asked for three months to put Bangalore
in order and a month has passed with little result to show. Now the
city will have another major problem driving in, thanks to Finance
Minister Chidambaram.
The
reduction in the price of small cars would automatically translate
to more four wheelers choking the roads of Bangalore. Already the
city is in the top bracket in car purchases - 550 new cars get on
to Bangalore roads every month with very few vehicles getting phased
out. All this would make the infrastructure groan louder.
Singapore
strictly phases out cars that are more than five years old and restricts
new four wheelers trying to get on to the roads through hefty taxes.
This results in less pollution and traffic congestions. Of course,
the public transport system is highly efficient and the roads are
hassle-free.
This
is what Bangalore must pitch for - good and efficient public transport
system and strengthening of infrastructure. A lot many of these issues
are in the pipeline - the Metro, flyovers, an international airport
and road repairs.
The
problem is that projects aimed at mitigating the hardships of the
common man remain in the pipeline for too long; some of them never
come out of the pipeline. What is now needed is speed in executing
these projects.
The
Chief Minister has two more months to show results. And he has more
problems, not just small cars, coming is way. It is time for promises
to take the reality road so that Brand Bangalore will not fade away.
Traffic
in central business district likely to double
Source
: The Hindu
Date: 28 February 2006
Traffic
in and around the central business district, Mahatma Gandhi Road and
the surrounding areas is predicted to double by April-end. Most of
the intersections in the area have a traffic density of close to 20,000
passenger car units an hour.
More
malls, multiplexes and high-rise business complexes are ready to open
before mid-year. A 130-room five-star hotel is due to come up where
the Lido cinema used to be, close to Trinity Circle. There are two
other large hotels already existing in the vicinity. The stretch of
Mahatma Gandhi Road between Trinity Circle and Manipal Centre is also
home to several foreign banks and headquarters of Indian banks.
The
five-star hotel location will also see one block of retail stores
in a new mall, a four-screen multiplex and more stores in another
block, besides an upmarket food court.
The
expected footfall is 30,000 to 40,000 on weekdays and upwards of one
lakh on weekends when the cinemas are usually packed. The experience
drivers have in Koramangala and Hosur Road, around a major mall and
multiplex, is likely to be repeated here.
Another
new development will be a 240-room, five-star hotel on Residency Road,
opposite Bangalore Club. This is expected to be inaugurated in April.
Opening its doors around mid-year will be another star hotel in Star
City on Vittal Mallya Road, where a major business complex is also
coming up.
When
work on the Metro rail starts, traffic is likely to be diverted around
Trinity Circle and the traffic police admit, it may be very difficult
to impose one-way regulations or diversions on more than a temporary
basis. Since the Core Inner Ring Road idea, mooted months ago, is
yet to materialise, traffic in transit can be diverted only along
Kensington Road or Brunton Road. The malls and multiplexes have been
asked to provide adequate parking space to avoid spill over on to
the roads.
MRTS
for non-Metro areas
Source: Deccan Herald
Date: 26 February 2006
Bangaloreans residing in areas outside the proposed Metro rail network
need not despair. Governor T N Chaturvedi on Friday announced that
the government will introduce other mass rapid transport systems in
areas not covered by Bangalore Metro.
The
Governor, in his address to the joint session of the State legislature,
without elaborating said, there are indications that the “other
modes of rapid transport systems” to be introduced in non-Metro
areas will complement the Metro. He also made it clear that the Metro
rail project, which is awaiting approval from the Centre, will be
implemented.
He
said it was the firm resolve of the government to maintain Bangalore
as a prime destination for investors and all infrastructural problems
of the city will be resolved within a fixed time frame. He said the
government will make efforts for dispersal of IT & BT firms to
other cities and towns of the State. At the same time, he asserted
that the State will tap the potential of this sunrise industry by
attracting BT players.
Besides,
a Centre of Excellence for Bio-informatics Research and Training,
funded by the Union government, would be set up in the Institute of
Bio-informatics and Applied Biotechnology in Bangalore.
Power
grid capacity
The
knowledge city of Bangalore will soon have another museum -- Lights
Museum and Energy Centre for End Users.
Governor
T N Chaturvedi said the museum will be set up by the KPTCL as part
of the centenary celebrations of power generation as well as lighting
in Bangalore. KPTCL Managing Director Bharatlal Meena told Deccan
Herald that the proposed museum would be the first of its kind in
the country.
Karnataka’s
power sector will soon get a boost with the Independent Power Producer
(IPP), Nagarjuna Power Corporation, set to commence work on setting
up of its 1,015-MW thermal plant in State soon.
HIGHLIGHTS
1,000
km of roads in Bangalore to be asphalted in 15 months
Roads
damaged by rain in the city to be repaired within two months
Fly-overs
under construction to be completed ahead of schedule
Govt
to co-ordinate with IT & BT industries regarding infrastructure
facilities in the city and outskirts
Security
to be provided to women working in IT, BT and other sectors on night
shifts.
BUILD
to build Bangalore Infrastructure
Source:
The Times of India
Date: 24 February 2006
Did
you think Bangalore had enough organisations to administer it? The
new government apparently does not think so: They have proposed a
fresh addition, a special purpose vehicle called BUILD (Bangalore
Urban Infrastructure Local Development Corporation).
Along
the lines of the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance
Corporation (KUIDFC), the BUILD will focus exclusively on improving
Bangalore infrastructure.
But
the administrative powers of all existing organisations —BMP,
BDA, Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, besides
the CMCs — will continue.
Deputy
chief minister B S Yediyurappa told reporters here on Wednesday: "We
want to make Bangalore attractive to the whole world.
We
are setting up the SPV to ensure that no one has any complaints —
the IT/BT sector, the citizens, the tourists or investors." The
details of the SPV and its operational area are yet to be worked out.
IT
Boom continues for the State and Bangalore
Source:
The Hindu
Date: 18 February 2006
Karnataka
defied a wave of negative publicity triggered by a mix of worsening
infrastructure and political turmoil with 29.8 per cent growth in
information technology (IT) exports in the first nine months of the
current fiscal till December 2005 as more IT firms moved into Bangalore
and existing ones expanded their operations in the city to cash in
on the boom in outsourcing from western countries.
On
the basis of figures compiled by the Software Technology Parks of
India (STPI), IT exports from the State touched Rs. 25,200 crores
between April and December 2005, recording a growth of about 30 per
cent from Rs. 19,400 crores a year earlier.
Given
the growth rate, IT exports from the State are expected to cross the
targeted figure of Rs. 37,000 crores in March. If this happens, the
annual export growth rate will be over 32 per cent, M.K. Shankarlinge
Gowda, Secretary, IT and Biotechnology, told presspersons here on
Friday.
Software
exports from the country crossed Rs. 78,000 crores during 2004-05,
of which the State's share was Rs. 27,600 crores. This fiscal, the
software exports from the country is projected to reach Rs. 1,00,000
crores, and the State's share is expected to be 37 per cent (Rs. 37,000
crores). U.S. accounted for 60 per cent of the software exports from
Karnataka and Europe 24 per cent.
During
April-December 2005, 135 new units were approved in Karnataka, of
which 60 per cent was in the form of foreign equity as against 125
units a year ago with a slightly higher foreign equity component of
64 per cent.
However,
in real terms, the foreign equity component touched Rs. 1,407 crores
of total investments of Rs. 1,800 crores made by IT firms during April-December
2005. In the same period last year, the foreign equity component was
Rs. 1,089 crores of an investment of Rs. 1,607 crores.
IT
firms are expected to make investments worth Rs. 2,600 crores by March
31 from Rs. 2,290 crores a year ago.
About
35,000 IT professionals were recruited during the year taking the
workforce employed in the State's IT sector to 3.2 lakhs. Another
10,000 people are expected to be employed by the end of March 31,
Mr. Shankarlinge Gowda said.
Global
IT majors, such as Apple, Broadcom, Intuit, ABB Ltd, Sandisk, JP Morgan
Services, Target, Allegis Services, Storage Tek, WS Atkins, Tyfone,
Catepillar, CAE, BA Systems, PMC-Sierra, Bearing Point and Deutsche
Bank, started operations in Karnataka during the period.
Besides,
400 existing companies, including IBM, Intel Corp and Cisco, have
announced plans to expand business in Bangalore. Apple is setting
up a technical support centre, and a U.S. bank and a retail chain
are also in talks to start operations in Bangalore. Every week, four
new companies are registered in city.
According
to a study by a global real-estate consultant, Bangalore ranked third
after Tokyo and London in terms of sale of `A' grade commercial space
during the period. About 9.5 million sq.ft of commercial space were
sold in Bangalore in 2005, mainly owing to the growth of the IT sector,
he said.
Karnataka
has set a software export target of $ 10 billion by 2010. But, going
by the current rate, this will be accomplished during 2008. By 2010,
the State is expected to export software worth $ 20 billion, Mr. Shankaralinge
Gowda said, referring to a recent study conducted by NASSCOM (National
Association of Software and Service Companies) and McKinsey. "Karnataka,
including Bangalore, is growing on their own strengths. We are not
competing with anybody," he said.
Mr.
Shankaralinge Gowda said 2,000 acres of land will be acquired to set
up a hardware park and drive growth in the northern parts of Bangalore.
Bengaluru,
new lore of Bangalore
Source: Deccan Herald
Date: 11 December 2005
Chief Minister N Dharam Singh announced here on Sunday that the state
capital of Bangalore would soon be rechristened Bengaluru.
Speaking
to mediapersons at his residence here, Mr Dharam Singh, who is on
a three-day election tour of the region, stated that the renaming
issue was raised during a meeting he had held recently with prominent
personalities and litterateurs for chalking out programmes on the
occasion Suvarna Karnataka, the 50th anniversary of the unification
of the state. Several
participants at the meeting pointed at the need to rename Bangalore
as Bengaluru, the city’s original name. They also stated that
the names of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras have already been changed,
and Bangalore’s original name should also be restored at the
earliest, he added.
The
chief minister said that he has already directed the chief secretary
to issue orders regarding the renaming of Bangalore.
