Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has announced grants for a slew of National Highway projects for Karnataka, which goes to polls before May this year.
Taking to Twitter yesterday, Gadkari sanctioned funds for the construction of access-controlled four-lane road with paved shoulder from Mysuru to Kushalnagar section of National Highway (NH)-275 near Guddehosur at the start of Kushalnagar bypass in Mysuru district, for which a budget of Rs. 909.86 crore has been sanctioned.
In addition, the Minister announced the construction of access-controlled four lanes with paved shoulders from Mysuru to Kushalnagar section of NH-275 at Yelachenahalli near Yelwal-K.R. Nagar Road junction to Srirangapatna bypass in Mysuru district with a budget of Rs. 739.39 crore.
Connecting Expressway
The four-lane 93-km Srirangapatna-Guddehosur National Highway will run parallel to existing NH-275 and will be constructed in two packages — from Srirangapatna to Periyapatna and Periyapatna to Guddehosur. The Highway will start from Bramhapura between Paschimavahini and Naguvanahalli near Srirangapatna and end at Anekadu near Kushalnagar. It will link Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway.
The expanded Highway will provide smooth connectivity and seamless travel from Bengaluru to Kushalnagar and people will be greatly benefited as the existing National Highway 275 has already reached its saturation point.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha have thanked Nitin Gadkari for approving the funds for the project. Earlier, Pratap Simha had on several occasions appealed to the Union Finance Ministry to grant funds for the Mysuru-Kushalnagar Highway, estimated to cost Rs. 4,000 crore.
Raitha Sangha opposes project
However, the National Highway expansion project has gained stiff opposition from the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), which has questioned the ‘self-interest’ of Pratap Simha in the project.
KRRS State President Badagalapura Nagendra had said that at a time when farmers are suffering from land loss due to various development projects and at a time when tobacco farmers of Mysuru region are facing severe distress, their elected MP is hell-bent on bringing in more Highways. “What is Pratap Simha’s personal interest in the project,” he had questioned earlier.
“Instead of widening the existing NH-275, an entirely new project has been taken up and this was unnecessary as over 1,200 acres of fertile land will be acquired for the project,” he had said, raising objections to the land acquisition process for the project.
