Metro rail is an important project for Bangalore, says Ananth Kumar

Metro rail is an important project for Bangalore, says Ananth Kumar

The Hindu

`The only solution to problems facing fast-growing city'

# Rejects Deve Gowda's call for public debate
# Says Bangalore requires international airport, metro rail and dedicated power plant
# The metro will be completed in 2010 if work begins by September this year

BANGALORE: H.N. Ananth Kumar, Bangalore South MP and BJP General Secretary, has come out in support of the metro rail system for Bangalore, calling it the only solution to the problems faced by the fastest growing city in the country. Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Kumar rejected the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda's demand for a public debate on the metro rail and said that an expert committee headed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Managing Director, E. Sreedharan, had prepared the project. "Some leaders are anti-development and anti-Bangalore," he said.

Campaign planned

Asked about what the BJP would do if the Government dropped the metro rail project, he said the party would launch an aggressive campaign and create awareness among the people about the need for the project.

To tackle the current infrastructure bottlenecks, Bangalore requires an international airport, metro rail and a dedicated power plant.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government sanctioned the metro rail in 2002 for three cities: Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. The Planning Commission and the Centre's Public Investment Board had cleared it. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs would give its final approval next month, he said.

Comparing the metro rail with monorail, Mr. Kumar said the former has a higher passenger capacity per coach and its maintenance cost is lower. The monorail is ideal for zoological gardens and amusement parks and other smaller places and cannot become a mode of public transport in a crowded city, he said.

`Five-year project'

The 34-km-long metro project, planned in the east-west and north-south corridors, will be completed in 2010 if work begins by September this year.

Only about 100 houses would have to be relocated if the Government goes ahead with the project, he added.

As many as 99 cities in the world have opted for the metro rail system as against 48 for monorail. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's success story is good enough to launch the project in Bangalore, he added.

The work on the 66-km Delhi metro project, which commenced in 1998, is expected to be completed by this December, three years ahead of schedule.