BENGALURU: Commuters, who want to park their vehicles and board a Metro train in the Underground Corridor of the East-West stretch, when it is open, may not find the space to do so.
For, the land earmarked as a parking lot on Cubbon Road is caught in an ownership tussle between Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and the Defence authorities. The corridor is all set to be declared open for its first commercial run.
The 1.5 acres of land in question, near the Chinnaswamy Stadium where the BRV Theatre once stood, was conceived as a parking facility by Metro. The space can house 100 to 120 cars and an equal number of two-wheelers. Though tenders were called for it in July 2015, since then the defence authorities staked their claim on the land and the plan has not made any headway.
Talks have been on, but a resolution is not yet in sight. “It will get resolved in some months. We are holding talks and will approach the State government,” BMRCL Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola said.
Underground stations in the 4.8-km Purple Line Corridor are Cubbon Road, Vidhana Soudha, Sir M Visvesvaraya, Kempe Gowda Metro station and City station. Kharola said that the end points of the stretch have parking facilities.
U A Vasant Rao, Chief Public Relations Officer, BMRCL, said, “We have enough space near the City station to be converted into a parking lot, but there are other works for which the space might be required.”
Parking Allowed
At the 17 stations dotting the 18.1-km East-West Corridor, Mysuru Road, Hosahalli, Trinity Circle, S V Road, Vijayangar and Magadi Road stations have free parking spaces. “Paid parking lots will begin functioning here after the stretch becomes popular among the public,” Rao said.
Presently, Baiyappanahalli Metro station is the only station with a paid-parking system. Its 2,600-sqft parking space can house 100 four-wheelers and 150 two-wheelers. “It charges `30 for two-wheelers and `60 for four-wheelers a day,” an official said.
Rao said parking would fall in place as the ridership goes up. “Metro will not get right pricing now as ridership is not high. More commuters will use the parking areas when the stretch is fully operational and contractors will also benefit from it,” he said.
Bikes For Hire Soon
A contract for the plan that aims to provide two-wheelers for hire at select Metro stations has been finalised and it is likely to begin in 10 days. “The contractor has been selected. It is likely to be in place when the East-West Corridor starts operations,” U A Vasant Rao said.