BENGALURU: There is some cheering news for vehicle-users who pass by the Tin Factory Junction as road-widening works are being taken up in the area by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
The road along the upcoming Jyotipura and KR Puram Metro stations of the Baiyappanahalli-Whitefield Line is being widened. Two upcoming Metro lines will crisscross at the nearby KR Puram junction.
The ball has been set rolling for the acquisition of 74 properties, including two temples. “Widening of this stretch is crucial. Putting in place more lanes will help motorists enormously as daily traffic jams at Tin Factory are notorious.
Also, two Metro stations will be located at KR Puram, one that caters to the Whitefield Line (Reach 1) and the other for the KR Puram-Kempegowda International Airport Line (Phase-2B Line),” said a highly-placed Metro official.
Two prominent local temples figure among the identified properties. While 24 properties have already been acquired and handed over to the engineering cell, 50 such properties are under dispute and the hearing is scheduled on August 3, the official said.
To widen the road, 11,200 square metre of land is required. Unlike the problems encountered from local residents and trustees in previous instances involving temples, the trustees of the two temples were extremely cooperative, the official said.
“Over Rs 9 crore has been paid as compensation for the two temples, apart from alternative land parcels on nearby roads, which are of the same dimensions that were acquired from them,” he added. A total of 1,057 sq m of land which houses the Muthumariyamma temple has been acquired. “We paid a compensation of Rs 6.85 cr for rebuilding it and there was no problem at all. In the case of the Om Shakthi temple, we needed 259.36 sq m of land and we have paid a compensation of Rs 2.25 crore to the trustees and the temple has already been relocated,” the official said.