Bengaluru's South waits and waits for Metro!

Bengaluru: For the last three years, Raghuram D, a businessman from JP Nagar, and his neighbours,  have lived in the hope that the southern metro line will soon become functional. To their disappointment, the elevated corridor has been limited to just a showpiece in the city’s infrastructure.

Raghuram says, “We agreed to do away with the trees which are our green cover, to live with   the dust, all because we wanted to commute easily to CBD areas – but it has all been in vain.”

 If you thought the recent deadlines on Phase I operations (which were to commence in June,) were anything to go by, read this:

The BMRCL hasn’t even completed a single stretch of tunnels in the north-south corridor! This means that all the elevated tracks completed from National College to Puttenahalli, passing through South End Circle, the 8 km stretch of three years will lie idle for months to come! For the entire 42-km Phase I to be operational all twin tunnels should be up and running to facilitate train movement both ways.                                     

About 15 days ago members of Jayanagar traders’ association met Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola and requested him to speed up the underground work. Prakash Mandoth,  the president of Jayanagar traders’ association, says, “Earlier we had requested BMRCL to airlift a few coaches and start the trial so that this stretch becomes functional. However, they cited some technical issues and the project was dropped. Recently, we  met the MD of BMRCL.”

He added, “This stretch has many colleges and schools. This will not only help students travel, but the metro will also get a good amount of passengers from this stretch.” Sandeep Katti, a lawyer and a resident near Jayanagar points out, “We have no expectations now. Earlier there was much anticipation amd excitement from us. There should have been better planning from BMRCL. If they could not open this stretch then they should not have constructed this stretch before the underground stretch and create curiosity in the minds of people.” He asks, “What purpose has this elevated stretch served in the last three years?”

Experts now fear at the that at the pace at which work is progressing at the North-South underground corridor, the entire phase 1 will be functional only by this year-end and subsequently BMRCL will again miss the deadline of June 2016. Now, BMRCL plans to push a train once one stretch of tunneling is over exactly how it had done in Mink Square when it pushed a train with the help of a trolley to Magadi Road metro station for trials to begin.

Meanwhile, officials from BMRCL say, “All the three tunnel boring machines Krishna, Kaveri and Godaveri are working and are heading towards Majestic from various directions at the North-South underground stretch.  However, Kaveri has hit a rock and this has slowed the process. Every time, the cutter head has to be changed.” About meeting the deadline, he refused to comment.  He did say, “We are on the job, everything depends on the soil we come across, we will see how it turns out.”

The cost of Phase 1 has escalated by more than Rs 2000 crore. The project today stands at  Rs 13, 805 crore. Until now the metro has opened in bits and pieces, there are just five small stretches open for the public – namely, Reach 1 (MG Road to Byappanahalli, 6.7km), Reach 3 (Sampige Road to Yeshwanthpur, 5.1km), Reach 3a (Yeshwanthpur to Peenya Industry, 4.8km), Reach 3b (Peenya Industry to Nagasandra, 2.5km) and Reach 2(Magadi Road to Mysore Road, 6.4km).

Coordination panel needed for defence lands: Experts
Time and again people of Bengaluru have seen tussles between various government departments when it comes to implementation of public projects. This time the dispute is over the 50-metre link road between Cubbon Road and Bhagwan Mahaveer Road (Infantry Road) wherein BMRCL and Defence authorities are at logger heads and all these after the entire east-west corridor construction is over and will be running shortly. Sadly, of all these infighting public are the losing end, hence experts feel it is time the only way to put a stop to these issues cropping up every time is to set up a land coordination committee between centre and state.

Ashwin Mahesh, urban expert pointed out, “Cities like Bengaluru, where there is significant defence land, we need a land coordination committee between state and the Centre. We have suggested that before, but nobody took it up. It is the Centre who has allotted the land for defence use. The state government is also to be blamed for these situations. In the past, when they have promised to given alternative land to defence, but not fulfilled it. Hence, their credibility is at stake.”

Agreeing with Ashwin Mahesh, Vivek Menon, another urban expert said, “The design plan should be sent to every agency and to defence especially when the project is done near or around defence property. Metro should have called a public meeting at Town Hall so that the stakeholders could have come up with their objections and in case none of them came up, metro can argue that despite the public meeting, nobody came forward.”

BMRCL spokesperson Vasanth Rao said, “It is a government land. It was used as a way for many years, we were trying to restore the land and suddenly defence authorities have come up and put a sign board.”