
BBMP chief orders expediting road widening works
Mr. Rao instructed officials to hold discussions with property owners and resolve the disputes at the earliest. There are 16 ongoing road widening projects in the city, and work has been fully completed on two roads.
He also directed officials to submit comprehensive information on how many properties have already been issued TDR, how many more need to be acquired, and the estimated expenditure required to complete the remaining acquisitions.
The Chief Commissioner further instructed that a holistic approach be adopted for the development of traffic junctions to ensure smooth vehicular and pedestrian movement within a fixed time period.
Further, Mr. Rao directed the officials to expedite high-density corridor (HDC) projects on the city's outer ring roads and ensure timely completion.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Hotels raise stakes on pandemic-era bets to ramp up revenue playbook
Synopsis Hotel chains in India are capitalizing on ventures initiated during the pandemic, transforming them into significant revenue streams. These include diverse offerings like gourmet food delivery, boutique hotels, and sleep essentials retail. Chains are expanding their reach through innovative formats and smaller inventory footprints, tapping into segments with higher yields and faster recovery cycles. Hotel chains are raising their bets on new businesses started during the pandemic-era, with some even emerging as critical revenue home delivery of food to boutique stays, and retailing sleep essentials, hotel chains had entered into diverse segments to sustain their businesses amid severe disruptions caused by the pandemic. Besides Tree of Life and a reimagined Ginger brand, Indian Hotels Company's (IHCL's) new business vertical also includes home stay brand ama Stays & Trails and Qmin. Initially launched as a gourmet food delivery app during Covid-19, Qmin has since transformed into a multiformat Rao, executive vice president of new businesses and hotel openings at IHCL said Qmin, with its multiformat presence across all-day-diners at Ginger hotels, lifestyle cafes, food pods and QSR outlets at airports has over 90 outlets, while ama Stays & Trails will scale to over 500 bungalows in the next few years from over 300 currently."Under Accelerate 2030, IHCL's five-year strategy road map, the new business vertical is set to deliver a revenue CAGR of over 30%," she said. Launched in 2021, ITC Hotels' Gourmet Couch started out as a means to bring the hotel chain's signature dining experiences to homes. Today, Gourmet Couch is available through the ITC Hotels App, as well as popular food delivery apps across locations such as Delhi NCR, Agra, Jaipur, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Guntur, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hotels also launched a boutique hotel brand Storii, which currently has seven operating properties across Goa, Kolkata, Manali, Solan, Dharamshala and Jaisalmer. In 2021, it also launched the first ITC Hotels Sleeep boutique at New Delhi's ITC Maurya, offering a collection of sleep essentials. These boutiques have since expanded to cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. "These innovations are not just pandemic stop-gaps; they have expanded our reach, and created new ways to engage with guests," said a spokesperson for ITC Hotel Group launched Radisson Individuals during the pandemic. The segment offers independent hotels the ability to retain their own character while gaining access to Radisson Hotel Group's distribution reach and loyalty programme. Nikhil Sharma, MD and COO, South Asia, at the chain said this model has seen strong interest from hotel owners, with 20 hotels currently operational across locations such as Imphal, Kasauli, Dhanbad, Yavatmal, Jim Corbett, Udaipur, Gopalpur, Katra, and Navsari. "We are also launching in locations such as Bhubaneswar, Gwalior, and Shirdi," he past five years have been one of the most transformative in modern hotel history, said Nandivardhan Jain, founder and CEO of Noesis Capital said hotel chains have been forced to rethink their strategies to cope with factors such as the Covid-19 impact, structural shifts in traveller demographics and booking behaviour. "The result has been an accelerated introduction of new hotel formats that are fundamentally altering the economics of hotel development and operations," said Jain. "The boutique segment has moved from the periphery to a central growth pillar for many chains. Smaller inventory footprints (20-80 keys), and immersive local positioning have enabled chains to tap into a segment that delivers higher yield and faster recovery cycles than conventional upscale brands," he added.


The Hindu
4 hours ago
- The Hindu
BRS flays hike in life tax on vehicles, says it's heavy burden on middle-class, poor
The recent increase in life tax on vehicles effected by the State Government is nothing short of a ruthless blow to the poor and middle-class families of Telangana, former minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader T. Harish Rao has said. Condemning the government decision, Mr. Rao accused the government of exploiting people through oppressive taxation policies. He said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had proved his deputy M. Bhatti Vikramarka's words right that the Congress had immense experience in collecting revenue by turning this experience into a burden on the common man. Without any justification, the Congress Government had issued GOs 53 and 54 increasing life tax on new vehicles and squeezing the poor and middle class under additional financial pressure. Purchasing even a two-wheeler costs over ₹1 lakh in the present day. Farmers, small traders and daily wage workers depend on these vehicles for livelihood and raising the life tax from 12% to 15% on two-wheelers above ₹1 lakh is nothing but extortion, the BRS leader said. For instance, if a two-wheeler's showroom price is ₹1.10 lakh, the previous tax was ₹13,200 and with the hike it would become ₹16,500 – an additional burden of ₹3,200 per two-wheelerke. Across Telangana, this life tax hike would extract over ₹1,000 crore from the people. Owning a car is an aspiration for many families and most middle-class buyers rely on loans to fulfil this dream. But the Congress Government had shattered those hopes as cars priced between ₹10-₹20 lakh would not attract 18% life tax, up from 17%. resulting in an extra burden of nearly ₹20,000 per vehicle. For vehicles priced above ₹20 lakh and ₹50 lakh, the life tax was been raised by 2% and 3%, respectively, burdening more households. The government didn't stop there and increased taxes on commercial vehicles too from 20% to 22% for vehicles costing above ₹20 lakh and up to 25% for those over ₹50 lakh. Ultimately, this tax burden would be passed on to the market and affect the general public through increased prices of goods and services. In addition, the Congress government is handing over road management under the HAM (Hybrid Annuity Model) to private companies for 15–20 years. To fund this model through loans, the government is quietly increasing taxes as a backdoor way to loot people under the pretext of development, Mr. Rao added.


Indian Express
12 hours ago
- Indian Express
Serious risks to Namma Metro structures, more traffic chaos: What DULT found in its review of Bengaluru's tunnel project
The proposed 16-km underground tunnel road between Hebbal and Silk Board junction in Bengaluru could threaten the structural safety of Namma Metro tunnels and worsen traffic congestion unless major design and mitigation measures are implemented, according to the Karnataka Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT). The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) submitted the feasibility study report of the proposed north-south corridor for review and approval by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) in July 2024. The DULT, which serves as the secretariat to the BMLTA, conducted a technical review of the proposal, following which several observations were documented for the BBMP's consideration. On structural safety, the DULT has said, 'The proposed alignment intersects with multiple Metro lines and may cause stress interference which can impact the Metro tunnel's structural performance.' The review highlights several locations where the underground tunnel will either cross or run in close proximity to the alignments of Metro Phase 2 and Phase 3A. These locations include Marigowda Road, Dairy Circle, NIMHANS, Wilson Garden, Guttahalli Main Road, 8th Main Road in Sadashivanagar, Corporation Circle, KR Circle, and Palace Road. According to experts, stress interference in this context refers to the changes in underground pressure and stability that can occur when a new tunnel is built close to an existing Metro tunnel. For example, at Marigowda Road, the DULT's review states, 'the proposed alignment of the underground tunnel intersects with the proposed Metro Phase 3A (Hebbal–Sarjapur line), which may cause stress interference which can impact the metro tunnel's structural performance.' At Dairy Circle, the proposed alignment of the underground tunnel intersects with the proposed Metro Phase 2 (Gottigere–Nagawara line), which may cause stress interference and impact the metro tunnel's structural performance, the review says. Similarly, the DULT flags stress interference and lateral displacement to existing and upcoming Metro networks near NIMHANS, Wilson Garden, Guttahalli Main Road, Sadashivanagar, Corporation Circle and KR Circle. The review also notes several traffic issues the tunnel, proposed for four-wheelers only, could create. On Jayamahal Main Road, the agency warns, 'Ramp construction, without undertaking land acquisition and provision of proper weaving area prior to the ramp, will lead to choking of Jayamahal Road.' In Sadashivanagar, accommodating an exit ramp on the existing 8th Main Road is not feasible, as it will cause road congestion and excessive traffic delays, the review says. For Palace Road and Basaveshwara Circle, the review cautions, 'The feasibility report should assess the additional traffic that would come to the junction if the tunnel ramp were constructed and if the junction would be capable of handling the additional traffic without impacting the surrounding roads.' 'At KR Circle, the proposed exit ramp will lead to additional traffic to the already congested KR Circle, exacerbating congestion and creating merging conflicts… such impact analysis has not been carried out,' the review states. Near Corporation Circle, the review indicates that traffic exiting from the tunnel road will increase the traffic load at nearby junctions, such as Coffee Day Junction and Queens Junction. On Siddapura Road near Ashoka Pillar, the agency notes that there may not be adequate width to accommodate the proposed entry ramp and weaving area and that the impact of the proposed ramp on Ashoka Pillar Circle, considering the additional traffic that would need to pass through the circle, needs to be assessed. As for Marigowda Road, it says, 'the proposal to accommodate an exit ramp needs to be examined considering the width available, impact on existing traffic and impact on nearby junctions like 13th Cross Road… the presence of an exit ramp will worsen the situation.' 'Sizing of the ramp should be determined based on scientific demand assessment… otherwise, the tunnel proposal will only create more inconvenience to people and lead to a more chaotic traffic situation at surface level.' The review states that the proposed project does not align with the objectives and goals of the approved Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for Bengaluru. Further, it says that the project does not align either with the BBMP's Climate Action Plan or National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP). Despite several noted discrepancies, Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited has proceeded with global tenders for the tunnel road project.