BENGALURU: The resurvey of the underground Metro line near the Cantonment Railway station seems to have put the government in a Catch-22 situation. While on one hand, the demand for reverting to the old alignment in which the Metro station would come up next to the railway station is loud and strong, another movement has been gaining momentum in the past two weeks.
Afraid of losing their houses if the government gives in to the demands of residents of Bamboo Bazaar and reverts to the old alignment, residents of Benson Town have now launched an online campaign. The campaign has quickly gathered over 3,000 signatures for the petition, which urges Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as well as Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation officials to shift the Metro station to Bamboo Bazaar.
Hosted on popular platform Change.org, the petition states that the decision by the BMRCL to relocate the Metro station to a BBMP-owned playground in Bamboo Bazaar street was taken keeping humanitarian and economic considerations besides technical viability in view. It goes on to say that the move was being opposed by vested interests who were trying to revert to the old alignment based on flimsy grounds. Providing a side by side comparison of both alignments, the petition says that the old alignment would lead to traffic blockade on Miller’s Road, Nandidurg Road and Benson Cross Road. Blasting and damaging houses in a densely populated area will also trouble the residents. The petition has been started by a user named ‘Metro Mane.’
Earlier, a similar petition was started by Vasanth Nagar and Bamboo Bazaar residents forcing the Government to order a resurvey for the location of Metro station. Sources said the decision has now been left to the government and the Bengaluru Development Minister K J George.