Bengaluru: Whitefield is gearing up for the metro. This is expected to bring about a sea change in one of the city's biggest IT hubs. Strangely, however, the metro line in Whitefield is located just opposite the railway station and BMTC bus stand. Obviously, planning has been done without taking into consideration integration with other modes of transport.
Now, a technical advisory group to the civic agencies have demanded that the metro change its track and integrate with the railway station before it is too late. During a joint inspection of the single corridors project by BBMP, BMRCL and technical advisory group, to avert any clash between the two and also to ensure that both organizations work in coordination, experts came across the fact that the metro track to be laid in Whitefield is located in a manner that does not encourage people to make use of public transport.
The proposed metro is expected to come up on the left side of the railway station and Bus Terminus. R K Mishra, an urban expert who visited the spot said, “In order to increase the number of passengers it is advisable to shift the metro line to the other side and in such a manner that people can easily access other modes of transport as well. We need to integrate the metro with railway and BMTC bus stands.
Metro officials also agree to this. Besides, there is a lot of government property like Karnataka Warehousing Corporation on the other side which can be used by the metro. In the process they can get rid of the hurdles of acquisitions. There needs to be seamless connectivity of the metro with railways.”
A source from BMRCL said, “After the markings were done in Whitefield there was a request from DULT commissioner Manjula to integrate the metro with the railway and the bus terminal. Initially we agreed but there are certain difficulties and we are looking into them.”
