Work Along NH-212 to be Completed by April 2016.

The four-lane National Highway stretch between Mysuru-Nanjangud and Gundlupet and Calicut will be completed by April 2016, two months before the stipulated time.

The completion of the road work will ease traffic and reduce travelling time to Nanjangud town by 12-15 minutes and will also benefit those travelling between Mysuru-Calicut and Mysuru-Ooty. The completion of the 61-km stretch of the 129-km road between Gundlupet and Nanjangud has also brought relief to those travelling to Ooty and Kerala.

The Union government, which took up the NH 212 road work from the Kerala border-Kollegal section as a project of the Engineering Procurement Constructions, was granted two years to complete the project, before June 18, 2016. The government initiated the construction of a 200-metre bridge across Kabini river and another one near Kadaloka. The work near four water tanks will be taken up once the designs are approved by the National Highway authorities.

Of the 129 km, the Mysuru-Nanjangud Road will be four lanes. A two-km stretch in Gundlupet town will also be four lanes with road medians.

Authorities said they are trying to resolve the land acquisition row, and problems created over shifting of pipelines and tree cutting.

MP R Druvanarayan said he has spoken to forest officials to remove the designated trees to expedite the work on the national highway stretch. He said they have acquired 27 hectares of private land and 3.72 hectares of government land, and also set aside Rs. 28 crore to pay as compensation to those who lose their land due to the ongoing work.

Asked about the confusion over the expansion of the runway in the Mysuru airport, the MP said officials of the Airports Authority of India will decide whether they should have an underground road or a deviation as the expansion may need an additional 88 acres.

He said the work on NH 212 along the Mysuru-T Narsipur-Kollegal section has been undertaken to widen the road from the present 5.5 metres to 10 metres.

But hindrances like toll plazas, truck lay-bys and surveys of encroached and pond area land in a few villages in T Narsipur and Kollegal taluks have slowed the pace of the work.

Expressing Gratitude: Druvanarayan thanked former Road Transport and Highways ministers Kamal Nath, C P Joshi and Oscar Fernandes for approving and converting the PPP project into an EPC project. He also made a mention of senior bureaucrat Bramadutt for preparing the project that links Kerala with Mysuru and Chamarajanagar district.


THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS