Gowda Seeks Enough Funds for Road Works

B'luru-Chennai e-way Hits Roadblock in TN

- BR UDAYA KUMAR @Hassan

UNDERLINING the importance of Chennai-Bengaluru National Expressway-7 [NE-7] and Bengaluru-Hyderabad [NH-44], former prime minister HD Deve Gowda said on Sunday that the Centre should provide enough grants in the upcoming budget to complete the project. The industrial corridors are expected to enhance the regional connectivity and economic growth.

Gowda was in Hassan to console the families of the deceased of the Mosalehosahalli accident and said that the NE-7 and NH-44 connect with NH-48, which further links Bengaluru-Hassan-Mangaluru, creating an important tri-port connection between Chennai, Mangaluru and Visakhapatnam ports. Gowda said that to reinforce this network and ensure all-weather, uninterrupted transit, the proposal strongly advocates for the construction of the pending tunnel project at Shiradi ghat, which is a landslide-prone stretch during monsoons.

The Shiradi tunnel project is expected to improve reliability, safety and ecological sustainability drastically. Highlighting the advantages of the strategic infrastructure project of NE-7, he added that the 288 km access-controlled expressway under Bharatmala Pariyojana reduces travel time from 7 hours to 3 hours and boosts industrial movement between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.