Bengaluru Metro: Forlorn wait for feeder connect

Bengaluru: Since the launch of namma metro’s east-west corridor, more office-goers, students and other travellers have been taking the metro to head to their respective destinations. In fact, seeing the growing demand, BMRCL has increased train frequency.

However, last-mile connectivity is still a concern at many places. It is acute at Byappanahalli metro station, which does not have the BMTC feeder service facility as BMRCL was not allotted space to park buses, despite the state government projecting the station as the next transport hub.

Apparently BMRCL is not keen to provide any space for BMTC at Byappanahalli as they want to dedicate the remaining land to a third party for property development on a revenue-sharing basis. BMTC managing director Ekroop Caur said, “We may never have any feeder service from Byappanahalli. 

We have communicated our requirements to BMRCL time and again but they want to utilise the space for something else. Until we get some dedicated space we cannot have feeder buses there. So we have requested people to take our feeder services from SV Road.”

Ranjit Kumar, an IT professional who resides in Ulsoor and works in ITPL said, "What is the point of having the metro till Byappanahalli, if we have to get down at SV Road? There is so much of unused land at Byappanahalli, why can't the agency part with some land for BMTC?” Voicing a similar opinion, Soumya K. said, “Is earning revenue more important than facilitating the commuters? After all, they are government agencies for public good."

A BMRCL official said, “We are not able to provide space for BMTC here because the area has already been demarcated for property development.  In fact, tenders have been called and we are in the process of finalising them. We do not think this should be a big problem as there is hardly any distance between SV Road and Byappanahalli.”

Parking chaos at metro stations
Since namma metro has failed to provide enough space for vehicle parking across the metro station, people are seen haphazardly parking their vehicles near the stations, resulting in unnecessary chaos.

BMRCL official says that they have been informed about the situation and are working to streamline parking woes. So far parking is available at Byappanahalli, Mysore Road and SV Road metro stations. 

BMRCL had earlier invited tenders for creating parking infrastructure at metro stations but that did gain any support due to less footfalls. A BMRCL official said, "Now since we are witnessing huge footfalls we are calling tenders for parking areas at all the major metro stations.”

Passenger trains to commuters’ rescue

Amidst issues between BMTC and BMRCL, commuters have found a way to deal with the problem – namely, the passenger trains travelling through Byappanahalli to ITPL and Whitefield. 

Due to lack of feeder bus services many are taking the regular trains from Byappanahalli railway station. Railway officials have confirmed that the crowd has increased since the metro launch and this has led to a lot of petty thefts and pick pocketing in the trains and platforms as well.

Sanjeev D from Praja said, "A large number of  commuters are  changing over at Baiyyappanahalli  during  8.30 am to 9.30 am in both directions from metro to the regular train towards Whitefield  and the train to metro towards MG Road and up to Mysore Road. In the same way during the evenings 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm , a large number of commuters do the interchange between metro and regular trains."

Clearly the current scenario stresses the fact that a circular train route as proposed by many, needs to be made a reality to work as a feeder to the metro along with BMTC.

Kannada activists protest

Bengaluru: Members of Bengaluru Nagara Zilla Kannada Sahithya Parishath, along with president Mayanna, took out a protest at Nayandanahalli metro station on Wednesday.

They shouted pro Kannada slogans and demanded prominence be given to Kannada and recruit more Kannadigas at metro stations. They said, “Kannada is not only a language, but it is also a culture. BMRCL should take steps to preserve it.” 

However, BMRCL spokesperson Vasanth Rao said, “Majority of people are from Karnataka. We have been very sensitive about it and we are committed to Kannada language and its culture. Our newsletters and website is also available in Kannada.”