Times of India
Bangalore, Mar 19: As one who put Bangalore on the global map, former Maharashtra governor S M Krishna on Tuesday expressed shock over how connectivity to Bangalore International Airport had not made much headway four years after he had initiated the move.
“I am appalled that Bangalore’s connectivity to the airport is in the doldrums. When we planned for the airport, even at that point of time, connectivity had been given a thought. I wonder what happened and why successive governments after me could not visualise the bottlenecks,’’ Krishna said in a meet-the-press programme organized by the Bangalore Reporters’ Guild and Press Club of Bangalore.
He said that the indifference of successive governments towards the connectivity issue amounted to a “cruel joke’’ on the people. Krishna said it was at his invitation that IT czar N R Narayana Murthy had agreed to head BIAL. “People had trust and faith that he will will do something. But was treated so shabbily that he quit,’’ Krishna maintained.
On keeping the HAL airport open due to poor connectivity, Krishna said he shared the concern of some people that a shorthaul flight of 25 minutes would necessitate a three-hour journey to the airport. “If the convenience aspect is looked into, perhaps, one can make claim for continuing the HAL airport. But from the investors’ view, we are bound by an agreement,’’ he added.
To a query on whether he supported the cause of Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor, Krishna said he had visualised the problems that would crop up on the project and had provided a four-lane road as substitute. Reminded of his unkept promise to turn Bangalore into Singapore, Krishna said such an objective cannot be singlehandedly achieved by any government. Citizens should involve themselves as well, he said.