BENGALURU: The Mysuru Road-Kengeri stretch, the second line of Bengaluru Metro’s Phase-II, will be launched on August 29 by Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
The Reach 2A line, an extension of the Purple Line of Phase-I, will have six elevated stations — Nayandahalli, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Jnana Bharati, Pattanagere, Mailasandra and Kengeri Bus Terminal. The stretch was scheduled to be launched on November 1 last year and then on June this year, but has been delayed due to various reasons, including the pandemic. The line will be extended up to Challaghatta Depot later.
“The launch has been planned at 12 noon on August 29. The Union Minister for Urban Affairs and Karnataka CM will launch it from Bengaluru. That is the plan as of now. The venue for the event and other details are being worked out,” Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) Managing Director Anjum Parwez told The New Sunday Express.
Following the inspection by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), Southern Circle, Abhai Kumar Rai, on August 11 and 12, the CM had written to the Urban Affairs Ministry on August 19 seeking consent for launching the line on August 29, according to correspondence sent from BMRCL. The consent to go ahead with the launch on the proposed day was received on Saturday.
Nearly 70,000 commuters are expected to use this stretch, the MD said. It will particularly benefit those commuting between Bengaluru and Mysuru as Kengeri is a key transit centre with BMTC and KSRTC bus depots. The first line of Phase-II, between Yelachenahalli and Silk Institute, was launched on January 15 this year.