BENGALURU: A classy, fully air-conditioned Community Hall for the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) has been readied at the Silk Board junction by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). This is in exchange for the land taken from the Police for its Outer Ring Road line. The procurement of furniture and interior designing is presently on with a plan to inaugurate the Samudhaya Bhavan by August 15.
Venkatraman Associates has designed the nearly Rs 25-crore swanky hall on behalf of the BMRCL. When it is handed over finally to the cops, it will overshoot the original deadline of July 2022 by more than two years. The single storeyed building has ample parking space.
KSRP Commandant R Janardhan told TNIE, “We had a meeting in this connection on Tuesday when it was agreed upon that BMRCL will purchase the required furniture as well as create kitchen facilities inside so that the community hall becomes a fully functional one. Landscaping work is also being carried out by them.”
BMRCL had demolished a partially-built community hall of KSRP as it wanted to acquire the property.
Giving details about the reason why BMRCL got into this arrangement with the police, M S Channappa Goudar, General Manager, Land Acquisitions, BMRCL said, “We had taken 8,633 sqm from the BMTC at Hebbal and given the Corporation exchange land by taking 7,889 sqm from the KSRP and 3,055 sqm from the BDA. We had given it more than what we took as it was required for their depot.” To compensate the KSRP for the land taken on which their partially built community hall stood, BMRCL took over the responsibility of building the hall from scratch, he added.
Asked about the reasons for the delay, a BMRCL source said, “The pandemic and labour shortage was one reason. Also, the building was originally proposed for Rs 20 crore and the cost has shot up to nearly Rs 25 crore now including purchase of additional facilities the cops required for the hall. Hence, consent had to be taken due to the cost overruns.”
BMRCL was also in the process of getting the drinking water and sanitary connections from BWSSB and the power connection from BESCOM for the hall, he added.
The Police is considering to use the facility as a marriage hall for the benefit of the police community or to hold conferences or meetings.