Elevated corridor: Suggestions galore at stakeholders’ meet

The stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Dharwad district administration on the proposed Elevated Corridor Project at the landmark Kittur Chennamma Circle in Hubballi saw participation from various sections of the society with suggestions pouring in on making the project more user-friendly.

At the meeting at Karnatak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Hubballi on Friday evening, chaired by Deputy Commissioner Nitesh Patil, the participants expressed apprehension over wrong execution of the plan and appealed to the various government agencies to work in coordination and ensure minimum hardship for the general public and to try to save as many trees as possible.

The elevated corridor at the busy Kittur Chennamma Circle in Hubballi is being taken up at an estimated cost of ₹298 crore. National Highways 63, 218 and old NH 4 converge at the junction. The project is also envisaged to reduce traffic congestion at the junction and to ensure smooth vehicular movement from the railway station to airport in Hubballi.

Businessman and Congress leader Mahendra Singhi appealed to the administration to begin the work only after completing the land acquisition process. He said that many a times because of the delay in land acquisition due to legal hurdles leads to inordinate delays causing hardships to the general public.

Architects from Institute of Architects including Anand Pandurangi and Sanjay Deshpande had come up with a plan suggesting modifications to the existing one . The Deputy Commissioner asked them to come to him with a modified plan after incorporating further details provided by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials.

While NHAI Assistant Executive Engineer R.K. Mathad mentioned that traffic congestion was bound to happen during the execution of the project, Police Commissioner Labhu Ram said that as the ring road connecting Vijayapura and Gadag roads to Bengaluru road was expected to be completed by March 31, it would mitigate the problem.

The issue of whether to have a pillar flyover or portal flyover on the BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit Corridor) also came up for discussion. Krishna Bajpai, MD, HDBRTS, suggested a portal flyover as it would cause less damage to the existing bus corridor. The DC said the issue was being discussed with experts.

Some participants urged the administration to take steps to ensure that the regular traffic was not affected during the execution of the project.

BJP activist Umesh Dushi urged the administration to acquire land equally from either side of the roads and refrain from taking land from only side just because it is government land.

He said that steps should be taken to retain the heritage premises of the historic Lamington High school and Chitaguppi Park. Several of the participants suggested the administration implement the project keeping in mind a development vision for the next few decades.

HDMC Commissioner Suresh Itnal, MD of Hubballi Dharwad Smart City Ltd. Shakeel Ahmed, president of KCCI Vasanth Ladhad, former president Shankranna Munavalli and others were present.