BENGALURU: It is quite ironical to see hoardings of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asking people to use the Metro to reduce congestion on the roads across the city. But where is the fully functional Metro, Mr CM?
After 10 years of construction, with a delay of five years and numerous deadlines gone, the recent one being April 2017, very few areas in the city are connected by the Metro. In fact, it seems like no lessons have been learnt from the mistakes made during work on Phase 1, as work on Phase 2 is going on a snail’s pace, especially on the ITPL stretch which is the hub of traffic mess.
Meanwhile, BMRCL have invited President Pranab Mukherjee for the inauguration of North-South corridor which will likely to be held anytime between June and July.
A Metro official said, “We have intimated the President about the inauguration. As soon as we are ready to open, we will notify his office about the date. The inauguration depends on the clearance certificate from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS). We will be calling the CRS for inspection in the second or third week of May, and as soon as we receive the certificate, we will throw the line open for commercial operations.”
The numerous missed deadlines ever since the inception of Namma Metro in 2006 has not surprised citizens. Initially, Phase 1 was scheduled to be completed by December 2012, which was pushed to December 2013, then to March 2015, September 2015, December 2015, June 2016 and April 2017.
Sanjeev V Dyamannanavar, member of Praja RAAG, an advocacy group, feels Namma Metro is not on the right track. “The MG Road-Byappanahalli stretch became functional in 2011 and the cabinet approved Phase-2 in 2014. But it was only about two weeks ago that the tenders for the extension of Byappanahalli-ITPL route was finalised. Why did they wait for so long? They should have taken up this stretch on a priority basis. After all, this area is notorious for its traffic jams,” he said.
In fact, Sanjeev feels BMRCL is repeating the same mistakes it made during Phase 1. “They are taking up the easier sections and avoiding the ones that require heavy financing and are difficult to implement. They have started work on Kanakapura-Nice Road, Nayandahalli-Kengeri and Peenya to BIEC, but they have delayed Banerghatta to Nagawara which requires Rs 11,000 crore and the Byappanahalli extension. These easy stretches can be opened soon and they can show that they have done substantial work. Hence they chose these stretches.”
The Metro official said, “Phase 2 works are going on at a fast pace. Mysore Road-Kengeri (Reach 2) and Yelachenahalli-Anjanapura Township sections, up to the NICE Road crossing (Reach 4), will thrown open by 2018-end. Besides, the tender for Whitefield has been finalised and work will begin soon.”
The detailed project report (DPR) for Phase 2 was prepared in 2010 and approved in 2014. Since then, the guidance value for land and foreign exchange rates have changed considerably. The project estimate was made when the exchange rate for a dollar was Rs 50. But BMRCL has not bothered to come with a revised estimate. It is clear that Phase-2 cannot be completed at a cost of Rs 26,405 crore, the cost may run up to Rs 35,000 crore, urban experts feel.
Civic evangelist R K Misra, who is part of Whitefield Area Industries and Commerce Association (WACIA), said, “Bengaluru needs the Metro at the earliest. Every time there is a delay, it brings disappointment. I hope their experiences from Phase-1 works will help for Phase-2. There’s no hope unless we have extensive Metro network.
Nevertheless, I believe Phase-2 work will be faster. The tender for Whitefield line was called in December-January and both the tenders went to the same contractor, so there will no coordination issues. In fact, land acquisition and demolition works too seem to be going on simultaneously.”
Metro Phase-2 will include 61 stations and cover a distance of 72.10 km. The Byappanahalli-ITPL-Whitefield extension line will have 13 stations while the 6.46 km Mysore Road Terminal-Kengeri extension line will have five stations.
Similarly, the 3.77 km Hessarghatta Cross-BIEC extension line will have 3 stations, the 6.29 km Puttenahalli Cross-Anajanapura Township line will have five, the 21.25 km Gottigere-IIMB-Nagavara line will have 18, and the 18.82 km RV Road Terminal-Bommasandra new line will have 16 stations.
Under Phase 1, there are two lines with an interchange at Majestic Metro station. The purple line from Byappanahalli to Mysore Road has 17 stations and the green line from Nagasandra to Puttenahalli has 25 stations.
Together, Phase 1 and 2 will cover 112 km, and with Phase-3, it will stretch to 151 km. Together, it will cater more than 20 lakh every day.