Two gates at Bengaluru Railway Metro still under construction

Bengaluru: While the Metro Phase-1 has been thrown open to the public in June 2017, after missing numerous deadlines, the BMRCL is yet to tie some loose ends. 

They continue to drag their feet with respect to some of the civil works carried out by its contractors. Gates B and D of City Railway Metro station (next to Kempegowda Metro Station) on the Purple Line are still under construction. CEC Soma and CICI JV, the contractors that built the 4.4-kilometre long underground section between Cubbon Park and City Railway metro station have been unable to complete it even though the Purple Line was inaugurated in April, 2016. In one of the gates there are construction debris, cement, quarry stones, sand, and stone blocks. An asbestos sheet has been placed as roof. It is close to Magadi Road intersection, near Binny Mill. 

The work on other gate, on the opposite side of the road, has seen better progress and has been connected by an underpass. While an escalator was being inaugurated earlier this week, Rolling Stock Director, N.M. Dhoke told Deccan Chronicle, “The delay in Phase-1 project as a whole led to an increase in prices of various aspects. It differs for contractors, be it copper, cement, labour costs. They stopped work for a while at City Railway Metro Station, causing two station entries to remain incomplete." BMRCL Managing Director Mahendra Jain said, “We have told the contractors to finish it soon. The two gates and underpass will be open in a month." 

As per the company's website, the project is a “joint venture between CEC Soma and CICI JV, with the former being the lead member. The total value is Rs 995 crore.”