Electric cable hits work on Doddajala Metro station
BENGALURU: With a 66 kV electric line of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) found to be passing through the land acquired by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for its upcoming Doddajala Metro station, work on one side has come to a halt. The station figures in the fag end of Metro’s Blue Line from K R Puram to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
The 38.44-km Phase 2B Airport line is divided into three packages. This station figures in the third package from IAF Yelahanka to KIA. This is the second time it has faced a major bottleneck.
“There was a pipeline transporting treated water to KIA which we detected earlier and it impacted our work. It has been shifted now. We found this electrical wire now on the private land we have acquired. It is supplying power to an ITC factory nearby. Such lines are not supposed to be passing through private property. We are surprised to find it and have asked the KPTCL to take urgent steps to shift it so that we can go ahead with our work,” a Metro source told TNIE.
The station will have two entries and exits on either side of the Airport Road. This specific electric installation figures on the left side when one travels from the city towards KIA, he added. “This plot of land is required for our entry and exit and ticket counters,” he said. Work was progressing normally on the other entry of Doddajala station. The only other station built in this package will be Chikkajala while two stations inside KIA is the responsibility of BIAL.
Near the Airport Trumpet, the line crosses a railway line. “We, along with K-RIDE (which implements the suburban rail project) have asked permission from South Western Railway Zone to approve our design here,” he added.
On the status of work on this package, the official said, “A total of 150 span U-girders have been completed. Over 50% of civil works had been completed on the package 3 stretch.”
Package-1 runs between Kasturinagar and Kempapura, while Package-2 runs between Kempapura and IAF Yelahanka. On the status of the ongoing work here, another official said, “Around 40% of the work is completed here. The stations of Kasturinagar, Horamavu HRBR Layout, Kalyan Nagar, HBR Layout, Nagawara, Veerannapalya, and Kempapura figure on this stretch. Station foundation work is nearing completion while viaduct work is progressing.”
Nearly 50% of the work has been completed on Package-2 which has Hebbal, Kodigehalli, Jakkur Cross, Jakkur Plantation, Yelahanka, Bagalur Cross, and Bettahalasuru stations. “All the viaduct work here has been completed except for 2 km on the Outer Ring Road,” he said.