NICE offers golden gate bridge in Mysore

Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) managing director Ashok K Kheny, whose ambitious 111-km Bangalore-Mysore expressway project is taking shape, has plans for a golden gate bridge, a replica of the famous bridge in San Francisco (USA) across the river Cauvery, on the outskirts of Mysore.

As part of a beautification proposal for Mysore, NICE has given a proposal for adopting one kilometer radius roads on all the four sides in the city, where a number of heritage buildings lie.

Apart from restoring the facade, the proposal covers creation of civic facilities like underground parking, walkways among others at "no cost burden to Mysore."

Making a presentation on the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP) to a packed house of engineers and builders in Mysore on May 31, under the auspices of the Builders' Association of India (BAI), Mysore Centre, Kheny said, "Mysore has tremendous potential for tourism. It could become a $5-10 billion industry. I would like to bring that money to this beautiful city."

"Abroad, they identify Mysore along with Jaipur and Udaipur, because of the city's rich heritage. But, Mysore lacks infrastructure. Mysore can become the economic hub of India and the bedroom of Bangalore," Kheny, who hails from Bidar in Karnataka and has lived in the US for about three decades, remarked.

One of the BMICP's five centres is a 'Mayaloka' on 80 acres in Kesare in the city. It will showcase Mahabharata, Ramayana and other Pouranic epics, apart from the famous Panchatantra stories.

A section of the peripheral road in Bangalore, which is a part of the Rs 2,500 crore BMICP road project, would be opened on June 16.