BENGALURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday afternoon formally launched the KR Pura-Baiyappanahalli and Kengeri-Challaghatta extension routes of the Namma Metro through video conference. The PM was in Ghaziabad to inaugurate India’s First Regional Rapid Transit System. In his address, he also mentioned about introducing the Metro in Mysuru too.
The Metro sections were opened to the public on October 9 after much outcry online from commuters after the Union Urban Development Ministry gave the go-ahead.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah participated in the video conference from his home office ‘Krishna’ along with Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, Yeshwantpur MLA S T Somashekar, Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma, Namma Metro MD Anjum Pervez and others.
The CM, who spoke in Kannada during the virtual conference, said Metro is necessary for Bengaluru which is facing acute traffic problems. “The Namma Metro project has been taken up with matching funds from the state and Centre. Under Phase 2, work on 37 km stretch has been completed and seven lakh people are using the Metro services daily”.
Recalling that then President Pranab Mukherjee had inaugurated the first phase in 2017, Siddaramaiah said the state has so far spent Rs 5,600 crore on the project. “Work on the 3.14 km Nagasandra-Madavara line and the 19.15 km RV Road-Bommasandra line will be completed soon and will be opened to the public in April 2024”, he said.
The CM said that work on the 21.26 km Kalena Agrahara-Nagawara new line will be completed by March 2025 and with this, the total network will expand to 117 km. It is expected that 12 lakh people will use the Metro, he noted. The state government has released Rs 11583.08 crore for the Phase 2 project.
The 58 km line from Central Silk Board to Hebbal junction under Phase 2A and 2B will cost Rs 14,788.10 crore and is expected to be completed by 2026, he added. So far, the state has released Rs 4,775. 36 crore and when this line is completed, the network will expand to 176 km with and estimated 20 lakh commuters, the CM added.
Siddaramaiah said the state has presented a detailed project report (DPR) to the Centre with an estimate of Rs 15,611 crore for the 45 km Phase 3 project of Namma Metro and requested the PM to approve it expeditiously. He also said a DPR is being prepared for the 37 km Phase 3A project to link Sarjapur and Hebbal.
With Bengaluru growing at a fast pace, the state government has approved a plan to increase the Metro network to 317 km by 2031. Already, work on 257 km is in progress and in the planning stage and a feasability survey will be conducted for the remaining 60 km, he added.