Congress workers, along with Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president Ramalinga Reddy, staged a protest against the delay in the construction of the Ejipura flyover in Bengaluru on Saturday, February 18. The protest was held at the Sony World Junction on 100 Feet Road in Koramangala, where protesters raised awareness against the incomplete flyover from Ejipura to Kendriya Sadan, and the Ejipura-Agara Link Road.
In a series of tweets, Ramalinga Reddy said that in 2017, the contract of the flyover was given to the firm Simplex Infra Ltd, and a deadline of December 2019 was fixed for completing the project. He wrote that work had progressed well till 2018 while Congress was in power in the state, and up to 32% of the work had been completed. He alleged that after the BJP government came to power in 2019, funds became insufficient and only 10% of the work was completed since then.
“M/S Simplex Infra Ltd had written many letters to the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) highlighting this issue, but the funds were never released, which delayed the completion of the project. I have written letters to the Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai, UDD (Urban Development Department) and the BBMP on multiple occasions requesting immediate action. Despite several meetings and joint inspections conducted on-site with successive BBMP commissioners no concrete results are obtained,” his tweet said.
Protested against the ruling @BJP4Karnataka govt & the #BBMP at the Sony world junction on 100 ft ring road to demand early completion of the Ejipura to Kendriya Sadan flyover & Ejipura-Agara link road.#Ejipura #EjipuraFlyover @INCKarnataka @BSBommai @BBMPCOMM
— Ramalinga Reddy (@RLR_BTM) February 18, 2023
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The protest was also joined by several Koramangala residents and resident welfare associations. Ramalinga Reddy also highlighted the incomplete Ejipura-Agara Link Road, and said, “On the other hand, the Ejipura-Agara Link Road, as per the RMP (Revised Master Plan) 2015, has been delayed despite signing an MOU with the Defence Department. The BBMP has not put its best effort into taking the land and starting the Link Road, which will relieve Koramangala's traffic congestion.”
The Ejipura-Kendriya Sadan flyover project was undertaken by the BBMP in order to facilitate smooth traffic flow and reduce traffic congestion on the busy 100 Feet Road that passes through Koramangala. The state government cancelled Simplex Infra Ltd's construction contract in March 2022 as directed by the Karnataka High Court because the firm failed to complete the construction despite being given several extensions. The BBMP then extended the deadline to March 2024 and issued a new contract for Rs 144 crore.