Electronics City, Devanahalli in Metro Phase II

Electronics City, Devanahalli in Metro Phase II
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Even as the preparations are being made for the ground work of the first phase of the proposed Bangalore Metro Rail to begin in March 2005, plans are afoot to extend the system upto Devenahalli and Electronics City in the second phase.

‘‘Once the first phase becomes fully operational, we can plan for covering more areas in the next phase,’’ officials told this website’s newspaper. According to the existing plan, the proposed rail network links Peenya with JP Nagar (North-South) and West of Chord Road to Byappanhalli (West-East).

The network is likely to link the proposed international airport at Devanahalli and the Electronics City on Hosur Road on the other end of the city in the next phase. There is already pressure to widen the existing Bangalore-Hosur National Highway and recently the Centre also announced plans for a separate link from Central Silk Board to Electronics City.

With the IT City project coming up in that region, the pressure for a fast, safe and efficient transport system is bound to be felt, sources said.

The suggestion to cover Devenahalli and Electronics City under Metro Rail network was first made by Union Minister of State for Planning M.V. Rajashekharan during a seminar in the city.

The much-delayed work on the metro project is expected to start from March 2005 as the Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Limited (BMRTL), the nodal agency, has been successful in getting all required clearances. 2007 will complete the first phase of Rs. 500-crore project.

On Bangalore-Bellary Road (NH-7) also, traffic has increased considerably in the last few years and it is expected to further increase after the proposed international airport comes up at Devanahalli.

Though NH 7 is being widened as part of the Golden Quadrilateral Project and an elevated nine-km structure planned to link Electronics City, the extension Metro to those areas will relieve the burden from the roads.