Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 8 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has directed officials to prevent the flow of sewage water into Bengaluru lakes and fill all the lakes with treated water

Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru Development Minister, held a meeting at the Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner's office to assess the progress made in conserving lakes, disposing of waste, and other related works.

A press release said that it was decided in the meeting to hand over the responsibility of filling Bengaluru lakes with treated water to Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). It was also decided in the meeting to instruct all the DCs and CEOs of Zilla Panchayats to take all necessary action to deal with potential water shortage.

Shivakumar instructed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.(BBMP) officials to fit all the vehicles which transports construction waste with GPS tracking device to monitor their movement and disposal. He also instructed the police and the BBMP officials to monitor the unloading of construction waste by these vehicles and take strict action.

Speaking to reporters at Sumanahalli later, Shivakumar said, 'The BBMP Commissioner and I saw 10-15 loads of construction waste dumped by the roadside. Hence, I have directed fitting of GPS trackers for all vehicles.'

Last month replying to a question in the Legislative Council, Shivakumar said that he has taken up the responsibility of Bengaluru seriously. 'Bengaluru is not a planned city like New Delhi; only areas like Jayanagara, Indiranagara, and Malleshwara are planned layouts. PRR project would have reduced the traffic woes of the city to a large extent, but it was not executed,' he said.

'Shivakumar said that the state government is planning to build double decker flyovers wherever the new metro lines are coming up. The BBMP and BMRCL will bear the cost equally, he said.

'It costs Rs 120 crore to build one kilometre of double-decker flyover. We have given a grant of Rs 9,000 crore for this project. We are also planning to build 300 km of 50-foot wide buffer roads along the stormwater drains to ease traffic as well. Rs 3,000 crore has been earmarked for this. We are also planning to build roads by issuing TDRs. A notification has been issued for a 7.8-km road from Hebbal to Hennur. A total of 320 km of new roads are being built in Bengaluru,' he said.

'We have allocated Rs 9,000 crore for white topping of 1,682 km of roads. We have taken a loan of Rs 2,000 crore from the World Bank to build 850-km long stormwater drains. Of the 850 km, 480 km stretch is complete,' Shivakumar said. (ANI)