Helipads have found a new purpose for playing gully cricket and driving tests.
Story so far: When the Prime Minister visits, you want everything to look good. Three helipads were constructed in Kommaghatta for PM Narendra Modi’s recent visit. The BBMP and the Public Works Department (PWD) re-laid a 14-km stretch of road over two days, spending almost ₹23 crores. The norm is if a VVIP comes to visit, there need to be three helipads close to each other.
- Now, they’ve been taken over. Driving schools are using them for driving tests. Kids use the space to play cricket and tennis. An official said if other VVIP visits in the future, they can be used as helipads again.
What’s next: The land the helipads were built on belongs to the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB). It’s up to them to decide what they want to do with the space. If the land is transferred to a third party, the helipads could make way for something else.
- That seems unlikely since Modi might visit more often given the upcoming elections.