Bengaluru: After a few weeks of lull in the protest against shifting of Cantonment Metro station, from the Railway station to Bamboo Bazaar, the issue has resurfaced. The Aam Aadmi Party, Karnataka unit, has come out in opposition of this decision, even making a suggestion to add another station at the new location. In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dated October 25, Mr Prithvi Reddy, State Convenor, AAP said, “Did Namma Metro suddenly discover the presence of many residents in Bamboo Bazaar who needed a station? No, they were always there and even now, by adding a station they can be served.”
Calling the arguments made by BMRCL “frivolous”, Mr Reddy, also the National Executive member of AAP, has joined other politicians vocally opposing the move. MPs P.C. Mohan, Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Rajeev Gowda were the first few. Urging Mr Siddaramaiah to direct the BMRCL to take a decision, Mr Reddy questioned the technicalities cited by Metro officials. “Did they not know of the mentioned problems at the DPR stage? Did they suddenly discover that the original alignment included a curve to connect to Cantonment? In fact, the curve was specifically designed to ensure that,” he wrote.
Reiterating the sole argument on multi-modal integration, the letter agreed that the original location of Cantonment Metro directly across the street from the Railway Station is the right one. Moreover, access to BMTC buses would be useful. He also suggested that if needed, a station could be added at Bamboo Bazaar which would be a small investment considering the benefits. BMRCL MD Pradeep Singh Kharola could not be reached for comments.
On this 21.42 km stretch from Gottigere to Nagawara, the contractor for civil works has only been fixed for the 7.5 kilometre elevated section between Gottigere and Swagath Road. For the rest of the 13.92 kilometres, including Cantonment, tenders have been split into 4 packages but no contractors have been fixed for any of them. Without resolving the citizen's opposition, Metro would see delays in Phase 2.
