Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara.
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Friday said he would push a proposal to declare Tumakuru as ‘Greater Bengaluru’ amid the possibility of his district getting a second international airport catering to the state capital.
“In the coming days, we want Tumakuru to become an extension of Bengaluru, like Greater Bengaluru. We can call it Greater Bengaluru. I’ll propose this,” Parameshwara, who represents Koratagere in Tumakuru, said.
Parameshwara was responding to questions of Tumakuru district, which is about 70-80 km away from Bengaluru, being considered as the location for a second international airport.
“I’ve heard that the plan is to consider Dobbaspet, nearing Tumakuru, as the location,” Parameshwara, who has been pushing for his district to get the second airport, said.
“We’ve asked for the airport to come up in Tumakuru considering the industrial developments...Asia’s biggest industrial hub spread over 20,000 acres is coming up in phases at Tumkuru. The hub will host big industries. Already, 150 industries have come. A Japanese township is also coming up. Importantly, HAL’s helicopter unit has started operations. We've proposed a Metro rail also,” Parameshwara said.
“When all this happens, Tumakuru will automatically become an extension of Bengaluru,” the minister said. “Nelamangala and Dobbaspet have already become a part of Bengaluru,” he pointed out.
In June this year, Karnataka set the ball rolling on setting up a second airport catering to Bengaluru. The government wants the new airport, which will be as big as the existing Kempegowda International Airport, to start operations by 2035.
The new airport, with an annual capacity of handling 100 million passengers, would require about 4,500-5,000 acres, the government has said.
Also, considering Bengaluur’s outward growth, the government has decided to rename Ramanagara as ‘Bengaluru South’ district.