Bengaluru: Bengaluru in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy replying to a query from the Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu on the delay in Phase 1 of the Namma Metro said, “Metro officials have cited the boring machine getting stuck underground as one of the reasons for the delay. We will conduct a review of the project along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.”
Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu had on Friday said he would review the delay in the completion of Phase 1 of Namma Metro. He was speaking at a workshop on ‘Swach Bharat’ mission. He mentioned that he had had a chat with Bengaluru in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy over the delays.
According to Reddy, the Union minister expressed concerns over the persistent delays in the completion of Phase 1. “We explained to Naidu that the BMRCL?(Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited) encountered serious obstructions in Chickpet area due to the hard rocks present in the vicinity, leading to unfortunate delay. We have agreed to a joint review of the project and even an inspection, if needed, in March,” he said.
Public toilets in Bengaluru
In an effort to end open urination and defecation, Reddy said public urinals and toilets would be made free in the City. “Just to avoid paying Re one to use the urinals, many people urinate outside public toilets. We will make it free of charge,” he said. Reddy said he had already asked BBMP?Commissioner M?Lakshminarayana to issue orders to stop collecting money from citizens to use public toilets. He said that under the Nagarothana Yojana, Rs 12 crore had been kept aside for the purpose of constructing additional toilets in Bengaluru.
