World Bank team visits Mysuru, holds consultations with local authorities on infrastructure projects
MYSORE : A team of World Bank officials held extensive consultations with local authorities in Mysuru on a host of ambitious projects prepared by the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC).
The deliberations were held on Tuesday followed by visits to heritage sites and industrial area on Wednesday. This is consequent to the MCC submitting concept note on a slew of projects for implementation in Mysuru aimed at transforming and modernising the city landscape at an estimated cost of nearly ₹2,800 crore.
Sources said that the MCC had submitted a concept note on stablishing utilidors in Mysuru to change the road system so as to include utility corridors to house essential infrastructure series like electricity, water, gas, communication and drainage within a dedicated underground corridor.
This has been mooted with the objective of enhancing Mysuru’s aesthetics, improve the utility maintenance and create a robust infrastructure to address future challenges and needs as well. Apart from centralised infrastructure management, it will eliminate the need for frequent road digging, eliminate overhead cables and clutter on streets making the city visually more appealing, in addition to reducing maintenance cost of utilities.
The MCC has also sought to implement a city surveillance system (CSS) for safety, security and efficient management of urban environments. The proposal submitted by the MCC outlines why Mysuru needs a complete surveillance system and provides a framework for its implementation with advanced cameras, real time monitoring, intelligent analytics, and data-drive decision making.
Sources said that the MCC has proposed a project to enhance efficiency in water supply. It stated that the increasing challenges of water scarcity and aging infrastructure, have made efficient water management a global priority.
One of the primary challenges faced by water utilities is the high level of leaks, unauthorised connections and metering inaccuracies to address which district metered areas has been proposed by the MCC. This will segment water distribution networks into smaller manageable zones and is reckoned to be a strategic approach to monitor, manage and optimise water supply system.
As part of the tourism development and heritage conservation, a presentation was made to the visiting World Bank team on Tuesday followed by site visit on Wednesday. N.S. Rangaraju, convenor of INTACH, Mysuru, highlighted the built heritage of Mysuru and how it can be integrated into tourism which is a major economic driver of the city.
Mr. Rangaraju said that the World Bank team was shown around Karanji Lake, Vasantha Mahal, Government House, KSRTC bus stand – as part of urban infrastructure -, Clock Tower, Town Hall, Gandhi Square, K.R. Circle, Lansdowne Building, Devaraja Market, etc.
The Mysuru Industries Association general secretary Suresh Kumar Jain, said there are proposals for shoring up infrastructure in the industrial areas in connection with there was a visit to Hootagalli. The World Bank team headed by Zhiiyu Jerry Chen, also visited Infosys and surrounding areas, he added.
Sources in the MCC said the visit is a precursor to prolonged discussions and terms of conditions that have to be agreed upon by the State government. It is premature to state the outcome of the current exercise, the sources added.