Reach to be operational in August 2013

Malleswaram 66 m span update

Land acquisition for Metro phase II faces poll hurdle

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is ready with the land acquisition plan for executing phase II of the Namma Metro project. 

However, the model code of conduct for the elections has come in the way of the notification and tendering process, which may have to wait till May second week.

BMRCL officials said they had written to the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB), asking it to issue preliminary notification for the acquisition of land necessary for the construction of corridors. 

However, KIADB is not in a position to do so as no fresh tenders can be floated with the code of conduct in place, said an official. 

Sources in KIADB said they had written to the Election Commission in this regard and they were awaiting response.

Phase II includes four extension lines and two new lines with a total length of 72 km, to be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs 26,405 crore. 

Properties identified

The BMRCL has identified a total of 941 immovable properties (both private and public) along the alignment of the project corridors under phase II. 

While 151 properties have been identified along the 15.5-km line from Baiyyappanahalli to Whitefield, for the 6.45-km line between Mysore Road terminal to Kengeri, there are 57 properties. 

For the 3.77-km line between Hesaraghatta Cross and BIEC along Tumkur Road, the number is 32. For the 6.29-km line between Puttenahalli Cross and Anjanapura, it is 71. 

For the 18.82-km line from R V Road to Bommasandra, it is 212; and for the 21.25-km Gottigere-IIMB-Nagavara line, the number is 418.

Needed connectivity

Once both the phases of Namma Metro are complete, they will provide connectivity from Majestic to Whitefield in the East, Kengeri in the West, BIEC along Tumkur Road in the North and Anjanapura Township in the South. 

Also, two new lanes under phase II from Jayanagar to Electronics City and Nagavara to Gottigere are expected. While phase I is expected to be operational by the end of 2014, phase II is expected to be completed by 2017-18.

Gali Anjaneya road over drain thrown open to traffic

Nearly seven years after it was taken up, the road over the major drain of the Vrushabhavati Valley has been thrown open to traffic. This has helped ease congestion to some extent on Mysore Road that is witnessing a slew of infrastructure projects.

According to a senior official from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the bridge can now be used by residents of Vijayanagar and RPC Layout to go directly to Mysore Road, near the Gali Anjaneya Temple. They had to earlier come to KIMCO Junction on Mysore Road via Deepanjali Nagar.

Though the civic body issued the work order in 2005, the work was taken up in 2006 at an estimated cost of Rs. 20.83 crore. The deadline for the project, which was entrusted to NPCC, was postponed several times, thereby escalating the project cost to Rs. 30 crore.

The bridge has been designed to have clockwise vehicular movement, thereby easing traffic on Mysore Road.

The official conceded that the bridge should have had one-in-10 slope (i.e., one foot slope for every 10 ft). This would have taken the bridge till the mosque on Mysore Road, opposite Gali Anjaneya Temple. “We were forced to alter the plans following resistance from the people,” the official said.

However, this created a bottleneck near the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation’s Satellite Bus Stand on Mysore Road.

The road between Gali Anjaneya Temple and the satellite bus stand is very narrow. Chaos and confusion was witnessed here minutes after traffic was allowed on the bridge.

The official said that there was a proposal to provide a down ramp to the bus stand. “We asked KSRTC to pay Rs. 10 crore for it. They refused and the proposal was dropped,” he added.

Another problem before the BBMP was the proposed flyover from NICE Road at this point till Sirsi Circle to be constructed by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise.

“The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the State government. However, as that work has not been taken up, the BBMP could only take up road-level works,” the official said.

The official added that the BBMP had now proposed to take up the reconstruction of the old bridge near Gali Anjaneya Temple.

“Based on the recommendations of the Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning, the bridge will be reconstructed, as the vents are small. We are proposing to construct a semi-circle arch bridge with pre-cast elements here,” he added.

Palike may acquire more land for flyover

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) may need to acquire some private properties to construct the proposed flyover at the Kittur Rani Chennamma Circle near the DG Petrol Pump in Katriguppe.

The long-pending proposal for 352-metre-long flyover to overcome traffic bottleneck at the Chennamma Junction got the Cabinet approval on Tuesday night. The project is part of the signal-free corridor from Bannerghatta Road to the Nayandahalli Junction and it will be built on the road along the Kadirenahalli underpass towards Nayandahalli. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 23 crore, which may escalate further due to inflation.

The Palike sources said that at least 2,600 sq metres of land may need to be acquired for the project. The Palike may have to acquire at least 1,100 sq metres of private land as there is 1,500-sq metres of land belonging to the BDA and the BBMP available.

Earlier, the Palike had planned a three-tier grade-separator at the Chennamma Circle, including an underpass, which was supposed to be built from Padmanabha Nagar end towards KIMS Medical College. The presence of a major stormwater drain near the road junction made the project impractical.

41 trees face axe to facilitate BBMP project

As many as 41 trees located in the City centre, between the Okalipuram area and Fountain Circle near Majestic, will face the axe soon as part of the ongoing eight-lane corridor project undertaken by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

This means the green canopy at Okalipuram will soon be a thing of the past. The project aims to ensure seamless connectivity for vehicles coming from West Bangalore, namely from areas Rajajinagar, Malleswaram, Vijayanagar and Basaveshwarnagar towards Majestic.

In a public notice issued on Tuesday, BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah said the project was the need of the hour as vehicle users were witnessing nightmares round the clock due to traffic jams.

Two railway lines extending from City Railway Station also pass perpendicular to the existing road now and the space below the railway bridge is very narrow. Once the project is commissioned, it would be a signal-free corridor with wider space for vehicles along the stretch. To facilitate the project implementation 41 trees will be cut in the due course of time, the notice said.

Officials at BBMP, however, said felling of the trees will be in a phased manner and could begin in two weeks’ time. In the meanwhile, the public can also raise objections.

Even though the eight-lane corridor project was conceived more than five years ago, it was only in December 2012 when the foundation stone was laid for the project by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar.

The project, with an estimated cost of Rs 183 crore, will have road underbridges, loops and an underpass to decongest the narrow roads between Okalipuram Junction and Fountain Circle (called as Vatal Nagaraj Road). The stretch is presently witnessing more than 14,000 passenger car units per hour during the peak hours.

Environmentalist Prabhakar Reddy said the Palike should first go for a bio-mass analysis of existing trees on the stretch before venturing towards felling the trees.

There are a good number of rain trees and mahagony trees here. It won’t be a good idea to rush towards tree-cutting without doing a cost benefit analysis, he added.
Madhu K, a member of Hasiru Usiru said the area surrounding Majestic has been losing green sheen for one or the other infrastructure project. Seshadri Road and Race Course Road are a few examples

23 shops on Mysore Road demolished for road widening

In an early morning operation on Saturday, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), with heavy police protection, demolished 23 shops abutting a mosque on Mysore Road here to make way for road widening.

While the BBMP officials claimed that the shops had encroached the already narrow stretch on Mysore Road, the traders were shocked to find out that the civic body was razing down their shops.

Imran Khan, whose tea stall was demolished, told The Hindu that he and his father had been managing this for the past 52 years. “The BBMP did not give us any notice. At least they could have given us time to vacate the shops,” he said.

Syed Abdul Matheen (75) runs a furniture shop here for the past 25 years. He said that he will now be forced to sell the furniture he salvaged at half the price. “I already have a loan of Rs. 4.5 lakhs to repay. Now with this loss, I do not know if I will be able to repay it at all,” he lamented.

It is said that the shops were rented out by the mosque. Most shops had encroached Mysore Road to an extent of 10 ft to 20 ft. A few shopkeepers alleged that the mosque authorities were hand-in-glove with the BBMP officials and had not informed them about the demolition. They claimed that only a few were told about the drive, who voluntarily vacated their shops on Friday night.

Following resistance from the shopkeepers, the BBMP gave them some time to vacate their premises. According to a senior BBMP official, the civic body had consulted the mosque authorities and had taken their consent before taking up the demolition. The official said that a part of the mosque compound would also be demolished, as it had encroached the road. “The mosque authorities have agreed to the demolition. The drive was taken up at 4.30 a.m., as we did not want to disrupt traffic.”

The official also said that the BBMP had sought police protection and around 250-300 police personnel were deployed at the spot. The shopkeepers were being convinced to vacate the premises. “We are still negotiating with them. We have assured them that we will construct shops for them once we take over the land required for road widening. The shops will be constructed on the remaining land owned by the mosque,” the official added.

Traffic jam

The demolition drive affected vehicular movement on the road. There was slow movement of traffic because of the demolition, on-going road widening work.