NWKRTC may shift new Hubli bus-stand

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/article3386374.ece


The plan is to move it from Gokul Road to Hosur

Improvement ahead?:Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar inaugurating the newly formed Dharwad division of the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation in Dharwad on Friday.

The North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) is planning to shift the new Hubli bus-stand from Gokul Road to Hosur, according to Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar.

Speaking after inaugurating the newly formed NWKRTC Dharwad division here on Friday, Mr. Shettar said if the plan worked out, the new bus-stand would be shifted to the premises of the Hubli depot at Hosur, and the depot to Gokul Road. The Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) proposed for Hubli-Dharwad had necessitated this change, which would be convenient for passengers, he added.

Facelift

The Cabinet had given its approval to BRTS, under which bus-stands and terminals would get a facelift. A team of local legislators and others recently visited Ahmedabad to study BRTS, which had been working there for the last three years.

It could be used as a model for Hubli-Dharwad with certain modifications, the Minister said.

Mr. Shettar said efforts were on to convince the Union government to sanction projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for Hubli-Dharwad. As the population of Hubli-Dharwad had reached 10 lakh, the city was eligible for it, he said.

NWKRTC chairman Mallikarjun Sawkar said the new division would include Dharwad, Saundatti, Dandeli and Haliyal depots. A new bus depot would also be set up near the new central bus-stand in Dharwad, for which the district administration had provided three acres.

He said the NWKRTC had made profits this year. It would get 700 more buses and improve services to rural and urban areas.

The NWKRTC would introduce 20 additional buses between Hubli and Dharwad, and these buses would start from new points in various layouts and interior areas that had no bus connectivity. Plans were on to improve the city bus terminus, old bus-stand and new bus-stand in Hubli and Dharwad, he said.

‘Improve connectivity'

Chandrakant Bellad, Hubli-Dharwad West MLA, urged the authorities to introduce air-conditioned Volvo buses from Dharwad to Bangalore and to Pune. He demanded that mini-bus terminals be set up in the extension areas, with direct buses to different localities.

NWKRTC Managing Director Hemaraju said there was a need for a workshop for the division, and the NWKRTC was ready to set it up if a minimum of five acres was provided within two or three km of the divisional office.

He said Rs. 5 crore would be released to clear the arrears of retired employees this month.

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Cabinet gives nod for Bus Rapid Transport System: Shettar

Centre urged to sanction projects for Hubli-Dharwad under JNNURM

[Hubli-Dharwad] Work on four-lane road to be launched on Saturday

Source: The Hindu

The Rs. 177.73-crore project to link Hubli and Dharwad

Preparatory talks: Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar speaking in Hubli on Wednesday.

The four-lane road between Hubli and Dharwad, a longstanding demand of the residents of the twin cities, is another step closer to being realised with the bhoomi puja for the project to be performed on Saturday.

Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and in charge of Dharwad district Jagadish Shettar told presspersons here on Wednesday that Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa would perform the bhoomi puja for the Rs. 177.73-crore project.

While the Centre has sanctioned Rs. 100 crore towards the project, the State Government's share is Rs. 77.73 crore. The tender had been finalised and the work order issued to the contractor.

Rapid transit system

As there was a proposal to have a World Bank-funded Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) between the twin cities, the contractor would work in coordination with the officials of the Directorate of Urban Transport; the four-lane road would be laid keeping in mind the requirements of the BRTS, Mr. Shettar said.

Two dedicated lanes would be required for the BRTS, which is a Rs. 500-crore project, making it a six-lane road. “However since the proposal is still in an initial stage, we will be implementing the four-lane project,” he said.

The Minister said a stretch of 19 km between Hosur Circle in Hubli and Jubilee Circle in Dharwad would be developed as part of the project. Of this, 13.75 km of concrete road would be laid between Naveen Hotel near Unakal Tank in Hubli and JSS College at Vidyagiri in Dharwad, he said.

Underpasses would also be constructed at Unakal, Navanagar and Bhairidevarakoppa, and an overbridge at Navalur.

Besides, junction improvement work would be taken up at the Jubilee Circle, Court Circle and NTTF Junction in Dharwad, and Hosur Circle in Hubli, Mr. Shettar said.

Afforestation

The Minister said the Forest Department had completed the survey on the number of trees to be felled to facilitate the road widening. A sum of Rs. 27.27 lakh had been paid to the department for afforestation.

Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Darpan Jain said the administration was also contemplating shifting the trees where possible.

The Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board had also been paid Rs. 2.84 crore to shift existing water supply lines along the route, Mr. Shettar added.

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Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to perform the bhoomi puja

A 19-km stretch to be developed as part of the project