Cantonment Metro station will stay at Bamboo Bazaar

Bengaluru: BMRCL finally put an end to their silence on the Cantonment Metro station alignment, over which they were keeping citizens in the dark until now. 

“There is no change or update to the alignment. The station location will stay as what BMRCL proposed, at the playground, which was approved by the state government," BMRCL Managing Director Mahendra Jain told Deccan Chronicle. 

This decision will elicit a mixed reaction from different citizens. The controversy started when several citizens protested the shifting of the station location, away from the original alignment near the Cantonment Railway Station. 

Another set of the people campaigned for the new location at Bamboo Bazaar's Madina playground as they feared loss of homes. 

Rajkumar, a civilian who campaigned against the new location, said, “If this is the decision, it is a black day for us. Those who chose the new location, authorities and citizens alike, will be responsible for the consequences in the future, when passengers have to walk 800 metres to change from Metro to local train."

He said, “Since it is a public transport decision and not one of security, they should have announced it earlier. We have countered every possible argument raised by Metro. There is nothing more we can do now.” The matter became sensitive in July 2017, when the official map was put up on the Metro website. It even turned political with MPs Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajeev Gowda and P.C. Mohan voicing their opinion.

The construction of Reach 6, Gottigere-Nagawara line of Phase 2 was held up during this time. This line will eventually connect to the Bengaluru International Airport.