BENGALURU: Even as political reasons hold back the launch of the fully completed Sir M Visvesvaraiah Terminal at Baiyappanahalli, the Defence Department is making sure that no one is able to peep into its premises from the Road Over Bridge (ROB) on Baiyappanahalli Main Road, running parallel to it. In compliance with that demand, the BBMP is now in the process of installing vision cut-off barriers on both sides of the bridge.
The 400-metre stretch of the ROB, which connects the main road with the terminal, as well as Kammanahalli, is now dotted with hundreds of grills separated by 2 feet from one another. “The Defence Department feels it falls within their Vision Range, and since it is a security establishment, they want it fully-secured from any possible breach. We are in the process of completing laying all the grills on this bridge. After that we will cover them with mild steel mesh so that nothing inside the Defence property would be visible to anyone using this bridge. The mesh will be laid shortly,” BBMP Chief Engineer Roads & Infrastructure B S Prahlad told TNIE.
On the status of other road work, Rao said that minor tasks like painting of kerbstones was pending. When this reporter visited the spot, the footpath across the main entrance of the terminal was yet to be laid with rows of stones arranged near each other. “The job of readying the access roads and the ROB have all been completed. The delay in opening the terminal as of now is not because of BBMP. We are desilting drains and laying many roads nearby that would help better accessibility to the terminal,” he stressed.
The fully air-conditioned terminal was readied at a cost of Rs 314 crore a year ago. However, there seems to be no clarity on when it would actually be declared open. The terminal was supposed to be first launched in June 2019, but it never happened. It was later announced that it would be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi by mid-February last year, but the PMO never gave dates, which delayed it further. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the terminal would be launched only after access roads are laid.
With everything in place now, there is no explanation forthcoming on the reason for the present delay.