BENGALURU: The move to shift operations of two pairs of trains running between Bengaluru and Ernakulam is unlikely to be welcomed by a majority of Keralites. The reason: no Metro train, poor bus connectivity, unregulated auto system and literally no approach road on one side of the station.
C Kunjappa, joint convener of the Karnataka Kerala Transport Forum, an umbrella organisation of 87 Malayalee Associations in the city, told Express: “At Majestic, we have Metro and bus connectivity. But there is neither Metro nor bus connectivity at Banaswadi.”
The nearest bus stand at Jai Bharath Nagar is 1.5 km away. “The trains will arrive from Ernakulam around 3.45 am. We will be stranded at that station,” he says. A halt at Baiyappanahalli would instead help, he stressed.Passengers alighting at Banaswadi station are at the mercy of autorickshaw drivers. “Ola took a contract to house its cabs here but they are not seen,” says a railway official. Passengers pay anywhere between `200 and `250 even to reach a short distance like Ramamurthy Nagar, Kunjappa says. A pre-paid auto cubicle exists but it is open only between 6 am and 7 am, says auto driver Mohammed Kasim.
M Amudha, an employee at a government firm says, “I need to walk up to Kariyenapalya if I have to take a bus.” “There is only one toilet here and it remains locked most of the time,”says Thomas Mathew, a private firm employee.
Threat of traffic jam, theft looms large
Even if one reaches the station by private vehicle or cab, there is literally no road leading to Platform 2. Saeed Aihyas, a local, explains, “BBMP laid the Gundappa Mutt Road and Janaki Ram Layout Road nearby 3 years ago. Railways refused to allow them to lay the road here saying it was railway property.” People need to pass by a garbage mound to enter the station from this side. “There will be a major traffic jam around the station if the Ernakulam trains begin here,” concedes a railway official. Reservation is presently open here only for six hours a day due to shortage of staff. Threat of theft too looms large.