BENGALURU: There is palpable excitement in thousands of homes from Yelachenahalli to the Silk Institute. They have been waiting for this day since December 2018, the first deadline for Reach-4B. After many missed deadlines, citizens of South Bengaluru can now board the first Metro of Phase-II, when it opens on January 15.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) announced that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa would launch it on January 14 at Konanakunte Cross Station, and Union Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri would do it virtually. Five stations – Konanakunte Cross, Doddakallasandra, Vajrahalli, Thalaghattapura and Silk Institute – dot the 6.29-km elevated line.
A sea of apartments has mushroomed along the route, including Mantri Tranquil, Gokulam, Shobha Forest View, Prestige Lakeridge, Mantri Serenity and Nitish Estates. Students from KS Institute of Technology and Dayananda Sagar University and other educational institutes will also benefit.
A Bhanu, chief technical officer at ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research based in Hesaraghatta, told TNIE, “This Metro line seems to be put in place only for my sake. It takes me just five minutes to walk from my flat in Prestige Falcon City to Konanakunte Cross Station. Similarly, for residents of other apartments. My office is in Nagasandra, near the end of the Green Line.” Bhanu used to park his car at Yelachenahalli and take the Metro. “From January 15, I will walk to the station.
I bought this house only because the Metro line extension was announced,” Bhanu said. President of ‘Changemakers of Kanakapura Road’ Abdul Aleem said, “We are an umbrella of 60-plus Resident Welfare Associations in and around Kanakapura Road, comprising around 30,000 residents. We are also waiting eagerly.” The Association was instrumental in urging BMRCL to build footpaths along the entire stretch of this line. “We did a survey with Metro officials on road development and footpath work.
They gave us a written assurance that all works would be completed by January-end.” Senior scientist at Karnataka State Research and Development Institute at Thalaghattapura, N R Prasad said real estate has boomed since news that the Metro line would be extended. “The value of our homes and rentals have soared. Covid created a temporary slump but after the pandemic, we will reap the benefits.
Kanakapura Road is among the most choked roads during peak hours. It’s a relief to use the Metro.”
Assistant director at Cognizant Shashikanth Harinarayana said work from home is the norm for most IT employees like him. “Post-Covid, it doesn’t look like I will be taking the Metro to work, but it will help me enormously in my personal trips.”
Yelahanka-Makalidurga train speed trials done
The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Southern Circle, Abhai Kumar Rai, completed inspection of the newly electrified 34-km railway line between Yelahanka and Makalidurga section of Bengaluru Railway Division on Friday. “Trains were run at a maximum speed of 132 kmph,” according to Divisional Railway Manager A K Verma, who was present. The Glass Water Challenge – a test in which a glass is filled to the brim with water and placed in the coach at the end of the train and to assess if there is spillage) was done successfully, he added. The speed trials were done on Friday while the statutory inspection was done on Thursday.
Bengaluru company wins Metro contract
Salasar Adorus Infra LLP, a subsidiary of Bengaluru-based Engineering and Infrastructure firm Salasar Techno Engineering Limited, has bagged a Rs 252 crore contract for the installation of ballastless railway tracks of 175km length for the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited. The project has a deadline of 2.5-3 years.