BENGALURU: Just about four months after the construction of the skywalk at Cantonment Railway Station intersection in Vasanthnagar was started, the project is on the verge of completion, and is about one month away from getting operational. However, this is one of the infrastructure projects that people are not really thrilled about.
The construction of the skywalk was started by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model with an aim to make it more convenient for pedestrians to cross the road. The footbridge will also have elevators to make it easier the people. “We will have a customised electric lift. The structure has come up, and it is only the lift that needs to be installed,” a senior BBMP official said. “The contractors are continuously carrying out the work, which will be finished in a month. The skywalk will be inaugurated then. It will help the passengers visiting the railway station, and even other passersby crossing the road,” the official added, also revealing that the contractor will deploy a security guard. The timings of the lift will be decided depending on the usage by people. The contractor will maintain the bridge for 30 years and pay BBMP an annual income with the advertisement fees.
However, not all residents of Vasanthnagar seem to be pleased about the new structure. “I was surprised to see that work is going on at a rapid pace here. There is no need for a skywalk to come up at this place. I think BBMP is doing this just to get money out of advertisements,” Ashwini T, a resident of Vasanthnagar, said, pointing out that there are many other important places in the city where footbridges are required, such as the Bellandur junction where a pedestrian met with an accident recently.
According to Raj Kumar Dugar, founder and convenor of Citizens for Citizens, who also lives in Vasanth Nagar, it’s important that the lift remains functional. “Also, if this has been made for train passengers, then it should have been connected to the railway station like the one in the city railway station. However, it stretches only from road to road,” he added.
The concern was also voiced by Savitha S, who came by train from Kolar. “People think twice to use lifts, since they fear that it may get stuck. And climbing stairs with luggage is a difficult task,” she said.