for necessary action

Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 11:00 pm

Subject: Bridge to Nowhere !

To:

mr@rb.railnet.gov.in

Cc: Deepika Arwind <

deepikaarwind@gmail.com

>,

readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

,

rajeev.c@sansad.nic.in

,

pcmohan@pcmohanbjp.com

,

commn-bmp@karnataka.gov.in

, "Chief Minister of Karnataka cm.kar" <

cm@kar.nic.in

>,

cpro@swr.railnet.gov.in

,

msrm@rb.railnet.gov.in

,

msra@rb.railnet.gov.in

,

drmsbc@swr.railnet.gov.in

,

prs-ud@karnataka.gov.in

>

Honorable Minister for Railways,

>

    

>

The flyover being constructed at Kadugodi - Whitefield railway junction, Bangalore has been in suspended animation for more than 2 years with no visible progress. Construction of the flyover was scheduled  to be completed  by March 2008 .  Two years later,  it continues to hang fire. Lakhs of people crossing the junction each month  are faced with multiple problems due to government departments' inaction and apathy. Precious petrol and diesel  worth millions of rupees is being wasted per month as the vehicles are forced to wait at junction and  take longer diversions to cross the junction.  A national loss, of course.

>

    

>

What is even more disconcerting is the  fact that the flyover is 80% ready and most of the money is already spent by government.  But the remaining  last 20%  portion, above the Railway Tracks has been incomplete for last 2 years.  To add insult to injury, Mr. Akhil Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, South Western Railway, Bangalore Division,  promised in his statement to The Hindu on 30th November that the incomplete structure would be completed on or before 31 December. With only a fortnight left for the declared deadline and with no visible activity taking place, Mr. Agarwal must have Aladdin's magic lamp to get the flyover from thin air or perhaps he is  waiting to set a Guinness World Record at the cost of inconvenience to thousands & loss of Millions of Rupees !  Or may be he is indulging himself in some kind of a pipe dream.

>

    

>

The link to the article published in The Hindu -

http://www.Hindu.com/2009/11/30/stories/2009113059460400.htm
>
>

 

>

Unlike your Divisional Railway Manager, you, Madam, are well known for your no non-sense purpose.  I am confident that you will realize the gravity of the situation and take urgent steps to remedy the situation.  Concrete debris from the incomplete flyover has already started falling around endangering the lives of the passersby.  Kindly instruct the officers and agencies concerned to do the needful in a time bound and realistic manner.  Thousands and thousands of people will remain ever  grateful to you for coming to their rescue.

>
>

Thanks & Regards,

>

Aditya.

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Note: Converted to a new project post: http://praja.in/en/blog/raghu-nandana-m/2009/12/26/new-completion-date-kadugodi-flyover

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 According to the article and comments in citizen matters, I quote

"The office of the South Western Railways on the present status of the Whitefield ROB: 

"Welding of steel girders for the main span over railway track is completed. The final testing and certification of the girder is in progress. The certification is expected to come through by Aug end. The welded girder is proposed to be installed in September this year. The casting of road deck on the girder is programmed for October. Road approach ramp is nearing completion except the top bituminous layer of road surface, which is planned to be taken up after the monsoon, during October. The road over bridge is likely to be commissioned for traffic during first week of Nov."

The article also has contact information for the engineer-in-charge in the comments section.  The whole sorry saga is also described there-in.

bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/1145-whitefield-railway-bridge-2009

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CM has forwarded my email to Bangalore Municipal. We can now hope for some action.

Picassa link

 

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/adityaselect/BridgeToNowhere#5405350663101101890

 

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 The Hindu had a write up on this issue on Monday.  Not a very well researched article.  The citizen matters article was much better. Link to the Hindu article here.  Mr. Akhil Agarwal very conveniently blames the delays on "land acquisition".  If you read the citizen matters article, you know that this is either a misquote or a mis-statement.

As a first step, I think there should be a bunch of letters to the editor written to the Hindu as a response to this article.  

Almost all railway projects involving the city go at their own pace.  One cited reason is from a safety perspective which is okay.  However, aren't the necessary safety check procedures a part of the project plan? If the affected folks really want this project accelerated, they should mount a campaign targeted at the Railways.  This would mean catching the city MPs and having them raise a question in parliament on the incompetence of this whole process, citing the media reports, esp. citizen matters article.

 

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Sanjay, a common man getting MP to raise question in Parliament ! this gonna take even longer than the time for flyover completion.

 

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 I only see very few options

1. Wait and watch and complain locally 2. Try to incentivise the people with the power to act to do something.  Only people who can move this forward is the railways.  This issue should become a front burner issue for them.  If Akhil Agarwal decided that this project has to be completed, you think he will not be able to get it done? I am sure he can speed this up within the natural constraints of the physics of the problem.  The issue is -> he is not answerable to anybody in the city.  He only has to answer his boss in Delhi (or Hubli?). So the kick has to be delivered from up there ... if not for the sake of this particular bridge, for the sake of all the rail over bridges in Bangalore. I was in the wheeler road area lat week... the sorry state of the shops under that flyover is yet another matter.

Right now, watching the sliding deadline, I am thinking along the lines that this will take at least until June 2010 before the bridge gets completed.

I don't know why we have to think that Parliament is some kind of holy, untouchable space.  It is our elected body.  We have gone out to cast votes -. let us go an ask them to push for us.  We will not get if we don't ask.  I think it is a lot better route than a rail roko which inconveniences common people more than our wonderful "rulers".

Agree with you though.  A mass movement is needed. One person alone cannot  do it.  However, going by the reports and messages, there are people willing to raise money to lend to the contractor to move things forward.  Can such frustration not be channelized into pushing our elected rep into action? In this case, the correct rep is the MP.

That is my 2 cents on this issue.

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Hi Aditya,

The email is good but what is the follow up mechanism on the same. Will BBMP comm drop an email to you? I will also frame an email and drop to all the email ids which you have provided. Until pressure is built I am not sure if we will get any traction.

 

 

Cheers

Manish

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Is Kadugodi flyover under BBMP jurisdiction? If yes then why is it missing from ROB list in BBMP document.

 

 

Cheers

Manish

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Rajeev Chandrasekhar is a Rajya Sabha MP from Bangalore. The people affected could perhaps join together and pursue the matter with him.

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http://picasaweb.google.co.in/mbhatia123/KadugodiFlyoverShamelessWasteOfTaxPayersMoney#

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 I believe this area is in Bangalore Central - so this is his contituency.  Contact information is in this link.

His record is a bit thin.  He has 88% attendance, but has only participated in zero debates and asked three questions. See data here.

PRS legislative research says that 25% of lok sabha's debates are about local issues raised by the MPs, especially about urban development projects etc.  Apparently, MPs from Gujarat are the most active on bringing up local issues. See link.

www.prsindia.org is an excellent source to track legislation in parliament and to read research reports on the same. 

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 Is Kadugodi flyover under BBMP jurisdiction? If yes then why is it missing from ROB list in BBMP document

Maybe because it is a SWR project?

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I want to copy Mr Mohan in the Emails being sent to CM and BMP but he has no id. Should not they have a official Email id ?

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 One email id is this 

pcmohan@pcmohanbjp.com

www.pcmohanbjp.com/contact-me.html

I believe he is in town today.  Was listed as participant in the flyover inauguration at Mahadevapura.

 

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find below link the latest project updates all underpasses, flyover, pedestrain underpasses in BBMP limits...ITC-Wheelers road RUB figures in the update , but not kadugodi ROB/RUB..

http://164.100.80.120:8080/bbmp_final_3/images/projects/PROJECTS.pdf

vinod

 

 

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from aditya jaiswal <adityaselect@gmail.com> to commn-bmp@karnataka.gov.in,
cpro@swr.railnet.gov.in
cc "Chief Minister of Karnataka cm.kar" <cm@kar.nic.in>,
rajeev.c@sansad.nic.in
date Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 1:31 AM subject Re: Re: Civic Problem: Bridge to Nowhere. mailed-by gmail.com  

 

Commissioner BMP Sir, CPRO Railways Sir & Honourable Chief Minister,

With Reference to the article published on 'The Hindu' :

http://www.hindu.com/2009/11/30/stories/2009113059460400.htm

The reason for delay is stated as the land dispute. The flyover is almost 20 month over due now. Is this not enough time to resolve all disputes and continue construction ? Was this not planned before investing money ?

I and millions others also read that the structure will be completed by 31st  December. We are clue less whether deadline is of current year or 2010, but in either case we are 'Disappointed'. With mere 25 days away from 31st December a layman can be rest assured that flyover will be far from complete & by December 2010 we dont know if anything will remain in semi constructed structure.

We understand that there would be other important things that keep you busy but we now expect that this flyover is really long over due and you all must now take a moment and fix it.

I hope upper management, Railways & BMP will work together to resolve issues/disputes, however, Honourable Chief Minister

, request you to provide all necessary guidance & expertise in this matter.

 

Awaiting absolute completion date.

 

Thanks & Regards,

Aditya.

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Thanks Sanjay. Well, i have now forward this mail to Shri Mohan.

 

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I am not sure why it is missing from the document in link given by Vinod.

Thanks Manish, in past CM@kar.nic.in has quickly acknowledged the email[within 3 days]; but there has been no response from BMP.

I am sure more mails to Govt and Media will certainly grab their attention. If you find time please also send email to news papaers.

Here are their email ids of various dailes-

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/adityaselect/BridgeToNowhere#5405350663101101890

And here is the mail that I sent:

Sir,
 
Construction of the flyover at Whitefield Sai Baba Ashram was  scheduled  to be completed  by March 2008 .  More than one and half years, later it continues to hang fire.  Chunks of concrete have started falling apart endangering the lives of thousands of pedestrians and other commuters, besides forcing the vehicles to take a circuitous route resulting in wastage of time and money.  A national loss, of course.  The issue has been taken up with the Chief Minister and BMP bigwigs.  All in vain.  Peaceful methods do not seem to resolve issues in our country.  Responsible media alone sustains hope.          
 

 

 

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CM has forwarded mail to BMP which i set on 6Dec. However rajeev.c@sansad.nic.in & cpro@swr.railnet.gov.in are not in loop.

 

Please also include MP of this area PC Mohan - pcmohan@pcmohanbjp.com

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at pgportal, you can address your grievance to one party at a time. We have two options for this one - Ministry of Railways, and State of Karnataka.

I have lodged two separate complaints, same text, one to Railway, one to GoK.

Here is the acknowledgement number, for the one to Railways:

Your Grievance is Successfully Registered. Note your Registration No. MORLY/E/2009/02796 for future reference.

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Hi kbsyed61,

Can you let me know the contact info of SWR PRO? I will try to fix up a  metting with them.

Regds,

Manish 

 

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http://www.southwesternrailway.in/bng_p_relations.htm

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I have dropped an email to CM today which is pasted below.  Could not paste the pictures I have send in this area. Will let you know the response if I will get one back:

 

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Ack and reference # for tracking the same complaint with Govt of Karnataka.

Your Grievance is Successfully Registered. Note your
Registration No. DARPG/E/2009/20881
for future reference.

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http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/getpage.aspx?pageid=4&pagesize=&edid=&edlabel=TOIBG&mydateHid=14-12-2009&pubname=&edname=&publabel=TOI

Go to: page 4 > My times My Voice

I hope this will bring authorities into action...

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Manish, Aditya, meeting local MLA should be possible, at least to ask where this thing is stuck. Which constituency will this be - Arvind Limbavalli's or Varthur Prakash's? One is BJP, one Cong I think.

Other thing - let at least 4-5 of us lodge a complaint at Central Govt grievance website. One party here is a central govt agency - South Western Railway, so it may get noticed and acted upon.

Here is the link: http://pgportal.gov.in/

I used this text, may save you some typing time if you are okay with it:

"A road bridge over South Western Railway's tracks right next to Whitefield Station (close to Bengaluru) has been sitting half complete for a long time now. There has been no real or visible progress on this work for over an year. We have been unable to get any answers from South Western Railway. Residents living beyond this under-construction bridge face unexpected delays on daily basis. Besides, this bridge is very important for connecting Whitefield suburban area with International airport. BBMP or BDA too does not provide pro-active updates on status of this project.

Please share current status of this project with public as soon as possible, and help expedite the project."

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Your Grievance is Successfully Registered. Note your
Ministry of Railways- Registration No. MORLY/E/2009/02802
Govt of Karnataka   - Registration No. DARPG/E/2009/20895
for future reference.


Sir
Construction of the flyover at Whitefield Sai Baba Ashram was  scheduled  to be completed  by March 2008 .  More than one and half years, later it continues to hang fire.  Chunks of concrete have started falling apart endangering the lives of thousands of pedestrians and other commuters, besides forcing the vehicles to take a circuitous route resulting in wastage of time and money.  A national loss, of course.

Speaking to The Hindu, Akhil Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, South Western Railway, Bangalore Division, said the flyover would be ready by December 31.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/11/30/stories/2009113059460400.htm

Does Mr Agarwal has a Magic Wand for completing the structure in next 14 days Or does he mean December of year 2020

Please clarify & share the time frame required to complete the work.

Thanks,
Aditya.

 

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Your Grievance is Successfully Registered. Note your Registration No. MORLY/E/2009/02807
for future reference.

The flyover being constructed at Kadugodi - Whitefiled railway junction has been in same state for more than 2 years with no visible progress. It is already delayed by more than 1.5 years past its completion date. Thousands of people crossing the junction every day are faced with multiple problems due to government departments inaction and apathy. Petrol worth millions of ruppes is being waste per month due to vehicles waiting at junction and buses taking longer diversions to cross the junction. The biggest concern is that bridge is 80 percent ready and most of the money is already spend by government but last 20 percent has been incomplete for last 2 years and is a black spot on infrastructure devlopment program of South Western Railways.
Can we know the issue halting the completion of this flyover and actual ETA for completion. If contractor is unable to complete this than a new contractor should be invited to complete this flyover.
I am sure that no flyover was a better option rather than having a useless half completed flyover with middle section missing.
 

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Your Grievance is Successfully Registered. Note your Registration No. DARPG/E/2009/20903
for future reference.

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Tha mail I had send to CM has been forwarded to commn-bmp@karnataka.gov.in; prs-ud@karnataka.gov.in for necessary action. Not sure what next step is?

From: Chief Minister of Karnataka cm.kar [mailto:cm@kar.nic.in]
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 3:42 PM
To: commn-bmp@karnataka.gov.in; prs-ud@karnataka.gov.in
Cc: Manish Bhatia
Subject: Fwd: Kadugodi- Whitefiled Railway Overbridge - Waste of TaxPayer's Money

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Please include officials below;

source - http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/

 Minister for Railways - Mamata Banerjee        Email ID - mr@rb.railnet.gov.in
Minister of State for Railways -K. H. Muniyappa Email ID - msrm@rb.railnet.gov.in
Minister of State for Railways - E. Ahamed     Email ID - msra@rb.railnet.gov.in
SWR  bangalore drmsbc@swr.railnet.gov.in
 

 

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http://www.deccanherald.com/photo.php?page=1&album_id=68

 

The mail I had send to Deccan Herald is posted on their site.

Regds,

Manish

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Hi Silkboard,

How can we meet the local MLA? No harm in meeting both of them to put pressure.

 

Regds,

Manish

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Manish,

Appreciate your good work. Also plan on meeting the Public Relations Officer of SWR. Call up his office and fix a meeting. I am sure few of Praja members would join you for the meeting with PRO.

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NAME DESIGNATION Office   home MOBILE  HEAD QTRS DOT   DOT               Shri. Akhil Agarwal DRM & Appellate Authority   22871498   22260131 9731666000 Shri A.S.Rao ADRM & PIO   22205749   22282525 9731666001

 

I am also providing the contact info of Mr Akhil Agarwal and Mr  Rao who are incharge of Bangalore division. We can file a RTI application to figure out the status.

Does anyone know the exact procedure of filing RTI?

Regds,

manish

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@mbhatia - Please refer this Gyan page for RTI filing information.

 

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