Kamaraj Road, the crucial link between the busy Cubbon Road and M.G. Road, will remain closed for the next four years. The 200-metre-stretch of road has been earmarked for an underground Metro station, which will have four entry and exit points. BMRCL is all set to begin excavation work in the area. The Central Business District has been in upheaval since Namma Metro came into existence, with M.G. Road, Cubbon Road and Vidhana Soudha main road all closed for extended periods. BMRCL does provide service lanes to ease traffic, as was the case with Vidhana Soudha Main Road, but no such promises have been made for Kamaraj Road, with the agency saying the onus is on people to use public transport until the road reopens. NISCHITH N reports.
Traffic in Bengaluru’s busy Central Business District area is likely to receive another blow, with BMRCL beginning work on an underground station along one part of Kamaraj Road. The half-kilometre stretch of Cubbon Road, from (Kamaraj Road Junction to Manipal Centre) will take about 20 minutes to cover, and commuters are bracing themselves for some of the worst traffic jams they have faced in the area. It also means that vehicles coming from Cubbon Road can no longer turn right towards Cauvery Arts and Crafts Junction. A pilot was run on Sunday, when the volume of traffic is relatively low but the realities emerged the next day, as Monday got off to a predictably chaotic start.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth says “Army school on Kamaraj road will not be affected during this time. Works will be taken up only on one portion of the road, with army land on both sides. The station required digging, foundation laying and site work to be completed.
Those who travel from Mayo Hall towards Cauvery Emporium on M.G. Road can no longer turn right onto Kamaraj road. They now have to go further ahead, to Anil Kumble Circle, then turn right there to reach Central Street and BRV Junction.
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Prakruthi B., a regular commuter, was very surprised to find traffic moving at snail’s pace. “But we don’t have an option and we’re not going to complain, because we need to support infrastructure development. The Metro Station at M.G. Road is a crucial link for people heading to Commercial Street and Shivajinagar. To lessen the pains of traffic diversion, though, BMRCL, traffic police and BBMP need to stay alert. The trains should run at a frequency of four minutes on the E-W line, with a six-car Metro, so more commuters opt for public transport and the traffic diversion doesn’t become too big a problem.”
The 200-metre-stretch of road has been earmarked for an underground Metro station, which will have four entry and exit points. (Photo: Samuel R)
Similarly, those coming from Queen’s Circle to MG Road and Cauvery Emporium will not be allowed to take a left towards Kamaraj Road. Instead, they turn left at Anil Kumble circle and continue on Central Street and BRV Junction. For those travelling from BRV Junction and Cubbon Road Junction, a right turn to reach Kamaraj Road will not be possible. They will have to continue all the way to Manipal Centre at the Dickenson Road junction, then turn right towards Garuda Mall. Vehicular traffic from Commercial Street towards MG Road will be banned and motorists will have to turn right at Cubbon Road and proceed to BRV Junction.
The ‘line’ up
- The Red Line will have 18 stations, of which 12 are underground and 6 are elevated.
- The 13.9km Dairy Circle and Nagawara underground stretch is part of the 21km Gottigere-Nagawara line. The underground section was divided into four packages for speedy construction. Package 1 (Dairy Circle-Vellara Junction), Package 2 (Vellara Junction to Shivajinagar) (2.7km) and Package 3 (Shivajinagar to to Pottery Town), Package 4 (Tannery Road-Nagawara).
- Underground station from Dairy Circle to Nagawara 13.92 Km
- Elevated Stations – 7.5 Km (Swagath Road Cross, Jayadeva Hospital Interjenction, JP Nagar 4th phase, Hullmavu, Gottigere)
Use public transport on MG Road, BMRCL tells commuters
BMRCL, meanwhile, has run out of funds and has cancelled recent tenders for civil works. Now, tunnelling work all set to begin on Kamaraj Road (which connects the MG Road Underground Metro station to Shivajinagar), has been barricaded. It is part of the Gottigere-Nagawara Metro line (Phase 2). Residents, however, are worried that BMRCL will not complete the work on time (four years is the deadline), as the corporation has developed a reputation for missing deadlines. Commuters have demanded that the work is finished as soon as possible.
“It’s unfortunate that the BMRCL has opted to close CBD connectivity once more, to develop the underground station. The agency has been known to cause great pain to commuters wherever it has had work take place, both in terms of its ability to meet deadlines, as well as the maintenance of roads during and after the construction. “This is one more way to trouble us residents,” says Purushhotham Prabhakar, Advocate and urban expert.
Another grievance is the lack of safety measures as many accidents have taken place at BMRCL construction sites before. Usually, BMRCL creates service roads before the construction work begins, which was the case as the Vidhana Soudha station was being built in 2013. Service lanes were created to ensure that vehicle movement would not be disrupted. With this stretch, however, BMRCL has made no such promises, simply saying that it is upto the citizen to support them by relying on public transport as much as possible. “BMTC can run more shuttle buses from M.G. Road to Hudson Circle, Jayadeva, Koramangala and Cantonment during construction time but this decision is upto them. Citizens also need to contribute by using Metro and BMTC and avoiding private vehicles in and around M.G. Road,” said a senior official from BMRCL.
The BMRCL confirms that the road will reopen as soon as work on the stretch is complete. It has also promised not to shut down any other stretch for so long again in the future. Tannery Road, however, is next in line and will be closed for around six months for shifting utilities.
