Even after a decade, Ambedkar Bhavan construction in limbo
If work does not resume within 15 days, the organisation will launch an indefinite protest in front of Ambedkar Bhavan, he told reporters.
Siddaraju called the delay a grave insult to Dr BR Ambedkar. Despite Mysuru being home to prominent political leaders like chief minister Siddaramaiah and district social welfare minister HC Mahadevappa—both vocal proponents of Dr Ambedkar's ideals—the continued inaction is unacceptable, he said.
The Bhavan's construction began in 2012 with an estimated cost of Rs 4.6 crore. Over the years, that figure ballooned to Rs 20.6 crore, with 60% of the work reportedly completed. The remaining tasks, which include parking facilities and interior development, are estimated to require an additional Rs 23 crore. Though the govt has approved Rs 23.8 crore, which was also confirmed by Mahadevappa for the second phase, no tangible progress was made.
"If there are obstacles in executing the remaining work, the authorities must come forward and explain. But if they continue to remain silent and inactive, we will have no choice but to protest indefinitely," warned Siddaraju.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
34 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Union MoS Bittu targets Punjab CM Mann over Doraha ROB issue: His words are loud, but the truth is none
The row over the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the construction of a pending road over bridge (ROB) between Doraha and Sahnewal on the Ambala-Ludhiana railway section continued even on Tuesday with the Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu accusing the AAP-led Punjab government of 'holding back the project for political reasons.' Meanwhile, Punjab's PWD Minister Harbhajan Singh stated that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann approved the project in October 2024. The Punjab minister accused the Railways of 'not granting the NOC for the overbridge, even though the central government is not contributing a single rupia for the construction'. 'Despite being Union Minister of State for Railways, Bittu failed to get the necessary approval,' he said. Bittu, on the other hand, said in a statement, 'Mann's words are loud, but truth is none; he fooled many and served none. This is a new low in dishonesty. The truth is the Punjab government is still holding back the project for political reasons.' The PWD minister accused Bittu of misleading the public regarding the issue of the Dhuri railway overbridge, stating that the entire funding for the overbridge's construction, Rs 54.46 crore, would be borne by the Punjab government, and the funds had already been released. The Punjab minister shared related approval documents with the media in Chandigarh, stating that since 2022, when Bhagwant Mann became the Chief Minister, he had announced the construction of this overbridge. 'The government has released Rs 54.46 crore for this purpose,' he added. Bittu also produced documents, claiming the government was yet to issue a 'clear and correct NOC' for the same. 'On May 2, May 21 and June 2, I wrote to Mann to issue NOC for the project and flagged the inordinate delay, but no response received to date,' Bittu in a statement said. 'The old NOC document, issued on November 11 last year, which Giaspura produced now, was a conditional NOC that was rejected, as it wasn't in accordance with the parameters of the Railways. After that, they have not issued a fresh NOC despite repeated reminders to the CM,' Bittu said. On Sunday, during a protest, AAP Payal MLA Manwinder Singh Giaspura targeted Bittu for failing to complete the overbridge project in his home district, Ludhiana, but 'playing politics over the similar project in Mann's constituency, Dhuri'. In Dhuri, Bittu had accused Mann of taking 'fake credit' for the upcoming ROB, and said that 'not a penny for the project has been sanctioned by the AAP government'. On the other hand, Mann had claimed that the Dhuri ROB was being established solely due to the efforts of the state government. To back his claim, Bittu shared a letter dated June 25 from the Executive Engineer, Construction, PWD Rupnagar, stating that 'the Punjab Government has only conditionally signed the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) for the ROB. The condition imposed is that Railways must obtain an NOC from PWD before starting execution.' Bittu said, 'Despite this, the ruling party's MLA is representing an old letter dated 11.11.2024, misrepresenting facts before the public.' 'It's either a case of ignorance or deliberate misinformation. There's been a long chain of official communication after that 2024 letter, and they are conveniently hiding it,' Bittu added. Bittu said 190 trains pass through this ROB daily, along with over 3,000 vehicles. 'The public continues to suffer, while the Punjab government plays politics. The Railways is fully funding this Rs 70.56-crore project, yet the Punjab government, in alleged collusion with some officials, continues to withhold the necessary NOC,' the minister said. Bittu said, 'This Level Crossing (LC) number 164A is located between Doraha and Sahnewal stations on the Ambala (UMB)-Ludhiana (LDH) section. In the census of July 2022, the train vehicular unit (TVU) was approximately 6 lakh, so the ROB was proposed.' 'Earlier, the ROB was being built here by the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Punjab government through the concessionaire Atlanta Ropar Tollways Pvt Ltd. Northern Railway Construction. However, this work was terminated by PWD on August 5, 2021,' Bittu said. 'Thereafter, considering the high TVU of around 6 lakh, the work was sanctioned by the Railway Board, amounting to Rs 70.56 crore vide letter dated 29.02.2024. To avoid any contractual disputes at a later stage, the Railways wrote letters to the PWD twice in September last year for granting the NOC,' he said. 'On November 11, 2024, PWD, Punjab, issued the NOC letter to the Railways, but some of the terms and conditions of the NOC were not acceptable to Northern Railways such as taking the responsibility of the arbitration case ongoing between the Punjab government and the private firm which was earlier executing the work. A meeting was held in the conference hall of Punjab Secretariat in Chandigarh on January 27 between the representatives of the Railways and PWD officials led by secretary Ravi Bhagat to resolve the issue regarding the conditional NOC issued by PWD, Punjab, wherein it was decided that the Punjab government will relook into the legal aspect of this issue,' Bittu said. 'Multiple letters were written to the PWD and to the CM to remind them about the issuance of the NOC, but it hasn't been done to date,' Bittu added. The PWD minister, however, pointed out that in June 2021, when the Congress government was in power in Punjab, the traffic at the site was already around 1.75 lakh vehicles daily. 'However, Bittu did not raise the issue at that time. Now, he is engaging in false rhetoric to hide his failures.' He further said, 'Rs 1.32 crore has been released to PSPCL for utility shifting, and Rs 1.42 crore has been allocated to the Forest Department for the same.' Challenging Bittu, the PWD minister said, 'If he genuinely cares for the people of Punjab, he should facilitate the issuance of the NOC from the Railways. If Bittu can secure the Railways' approval within two days, the state government will commence the construction work on the third day itself, as the required funds are already available. The state government is only waiting for the Railways' NOC to begin the project.'
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Talented people need not migrate from UP, says Keshav Maurya
1 2 Lucknow: Talented indisviduals need not migrate from the state or the country as we have ample opportunitiues, said chief guest deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya while addressing the winners and the audience at the Times Leadership Awards in the city. "I want to congratulate all the winners. Be it sports, academics, healthcare, research or entrepreneurship, their contributions need to be acknowledged by each one of us. As residents of 'Uttam Pradesh', I can proudly say that talented individuals from the state do not need to migrate to other states or out of the country to look for suitable opportunities. We all have seen the changed perception of the state in the country. Though till eight years back nobody was interested in investing in the state, the double engine BJP government has managed to secure investments amounting to Rs 50 lakh crore for Uttar Pradesh ," he said Special guest, BJP leader and and a prominent social worker, Neeraj Singh said, "I am proud to be a part of the event which celebrates the contribution of people who have made positive impact on the society. Over the past 11 years, Lucknow has transformed completely and represents the positive changes a strong leadership can bring in." Guest of honour and actor Kunal Kapoor said, "I am overwhelmed to be a part of the leadership awards being organised in Lucknow. I feel proud as I am in the company of people who are taking the country forward." Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
Indian Express
36 minutes ago
- Indian Express
On birthday, Akhilesh appeals to SP workers: Contribute for Mulayam memorial in Saifai
AS SAMAJWADI Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav marked his 52nd birthday on Tuesday, his appeal to party workers to make 'faith contributions' (funds) for the Samajwadi Party's Netaji memorial as a gift instead of organising celebrations, along with a promise to include names of all donors in a memorial booklet, has brought the upcoming memorial in his native village of Saifai in Etawah into the limelight. Over 223 km from the state capital, the memorial will be built on the lines of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC in the United States. At present, over 150 workers are working on the memorial at the Samadhi Sthal of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav with the ground floor of the proposed three-storied building nearing completion and the work on the first floor in progress. 'This year, my humble appeal to all my well-wishers is that on the occasion of my birthday, instead of giving any kind of bouquet, statue, photo, replica of our party symbol bicycle or any other kind of gift, they should officially deposit their contributions in the party office as their 'astha anshdan' (faith contribution) for Samajwadi Smarak under construction for Netaji,' Akhilesh wrote in a post on X. He also promised them to make public a booklet of contributions made for the memorial with their names mentioned. 'To thank you for your commitment to socialist values and your co-operation, the name of every contributor will be published in Samajwadi Smarak Sahyog Pustika,' he promised. Wary of fraud, the SP has, however, cautioned workers that no account has been officially set up for the purpose yet. Asked about Akhilesh's appeal, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly and veteran party leader Mata Prasad Pandey said, 'The only idea is to give everyone a sense of contribution to the memorial of Netaji, it would be as small as Rs 11 to anything like Rs 51,000 or Rs 1 lakh. The main purpose is to make everyone feel connected with the memorial of their leader… that is all.' Meanwhile, at the under-construction memorial, a senior party worker, Lakhan Singh Yadav, wearing SP cap and carrying SP flags on his bicycle, has travelled all the way from neighbouring district Kannauj to garland the bust of Mulayam Singh Yadav at his Samadhi sthal. Upon seeing him at the spot, some young SP workers were seen taking selfies with him. Unaware about Akhilesh's appeal, he says that all he wants is the memorial to be completed at the earliest so that he can visit it 'like a temple'. What is Samajwadi Smarak? The memorial is coming up in Saifai, the native village of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav over 18 acres. Its foundation stone was laid by SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav on November 22, 2023, to mark Mulayam's birth anniversary. The design of this memorial is inspired by the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, United States, which is built in the memory of former US President Abraham Lincoln. Officials at the site in Saifai informed that construction is being carried out by experts from a Hyderabad-based construction agency and the main building of the memorial would be of three floors of 27 metres height. In this memorial, on the first floor, there will be a 6 metre-long statue of Mulayam Singh Yadav. At present, the work on the basement complex has been completed, while the work on the first floor has started. 'There is a laboratory established on the ground to check the quality of the construction material being used here. The structure would be such that it can stand for at least 100 years,' he informed, adding that there would be a green garden and lawns on both sides of the pathway leading to the memorial and there would also be shops, visitor centre and museum near the entrance.
