Ejipura: Work of 7 years ago which gained speed

 Ejipur Elevated Corridor: Work expedited by CM instructions

Ejipura: Work of 7 years ago which gained speed

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ 

 Bengaluru: The work of Ejipura Elevated Corridor, which started seven years ago, was at a slow pace and was stopped for two years. The work, which did not see any progress even after the arrival of new contractors, has been speeded up by the instructions of the Chief Minister.

 People who have been experiencing traffic jams in the area around Koramangala, Ejipur and St. John's Hospital since 2017 have been demanding that the flyover work should be done soon. However, change of contractors and local problems hampered the pace of work. As Chief Minister Siddaramaiah gave the order during his city tour, BBMP engineers started working.

 We have consulted many times with the Minister and the local MLA, Ramalingareddy, to complete the pending work on the Ejipur flyover. The work was stopped when there was a BJP government. Ramalingareddy also joined us in the protest. Even so, the work has picked up speed now,' said the members of the local residents' associations.

 The vehicular traffic that has been going on for seven years is excessive. Going to hospital, school-college, offices becomes a problem. Ejipura Ramaraju demanded that the BBMP engineers should finish the work before the scheduled time.

 Elevated Corridor on Koramangala Outer Ring Road (Ejipur) 2.5 km. It is a long flyover. It is the longest flyover in the city after the flyover from Townhall to Sirsi Circle. Easypur Elevated Corridor Project was formulated in 2014. In 2017, the contract was awarded to Simplex Infrastructure for ₹157.66 crore. The project was to be completed by 2019. However, the contractor delayed.

A writ was filed by Adinarayan Shetty in the High Court. Even after four years and seven months, only 42% of the work was completed. ₹75.11 crore was also paid to him. The High Court canceled the contract in 2022. A fresh tender has been invited in three months.

 BBMP's delay policy delayed the tender invitation. Not many contractors were interested in continuing the half-finished work. The tender invited for the fourth time was accepted in March 2023. After negotiations with contractors, it was submitted for cabinet approval in August. Although approved on September 7, the 'turn key lumpsum' contract with BSCPL Infrastructure for ₹176.11 crore was awarded on November 17.

 Due to the delay of the BBMP officials in the process of contract cancellation, new tender, assignment to new contractor, the work of Easypur flyover is slow. The demand of the locals is that the work should be carried out quickly.

 Problems solved: Ramalingareddy

 There were many problems including release of money and land acquisition to the contractors for the Ejipur flyover work. A meeting was held with the Chief Commissioner of BBMP and the issues were resolved. Transport Minister Ramalingareddy said that the work is going on fast and it has been suggested to complete it soon.

•  ₹250 crore; Total Cost of Easypur Elevated Corridor
•  17 November 2023; The day the task was given to start the half-finished work
•  20 months; Deadline given for completion of work
•  ₹6 crore; Release of funds to contractors
•  Contractors; BSCPL Infrastructure