A futuristic plan to decongest City

A futuristic plan to decongest City
Deccan Herald

The world-class transit centre will have the KSRTC, BMTC, Bangalore Metro and the Railways — all under one roof — and promises to make commuting easier.

The Bangalore Metro may be a long time away, but the transport department is already thinking big.

Serpentine bus queues, choked lanes, messy traffic and endless confusion — this is how the Majestic area looks today. Fast forward to 2008: A beautiful park, an attached parking lot, a skyscraper to house leading corporate offices, broad roads and the smoothest of traffic flow.

Then where will all the buses go? And where will be the metro? “Nearly underground”, is what the latest futuristic project jointly prepared by BMTC and KSRTC envisages. The project, that will cover an area of nearly 60 acres at Subhashnagar, is estimated to cost Rs 740 crore.

This proposed world-class, inter-modal transit centre will have the KSRTC, BMTC, Bangalore Metro and the Railways, all under the same roof. The “roof”, that will be built at a height of 22 feet, will be designed as a park, and the entire junction will seem “buried” under this lush greenery. The entire arrangement promises to be very convenient for commuters, promises Upendra Tripathi, Managing Director of BMTC.

“The ambience will be very different from what it is now. The intention is not only to protect the commuters from the sun and rain, but also to make their travel much simpler,” Mr Tripathi says.

A single 45-floored structure will also be constructed next to the transit point, that will act as a business and commercial complex. “We are looking at decongesting Bangalore in the long run. From this point of view, it is a good idea to have offices at a central place which is well connected by road and metro. We are sure there will be many takers for the offices once it is set up,” Mr Tripathi added.

Initial stage

But before you dream on, here is a slight catch. The plan is still in its infancy stage. The two departments had called for an “expression of interest” from national and international construction companies last month, and it will take another six months to get the project rolling.

“The preliminary study has been conducted by Sundaram Architects and the project does look feasible. Now we are looking for companies who can actually implement our design. Such hi-tech terminals have been designed successfully in the West, hopefully even Bangalore will have a similar one soon,” Mr Tripathi added.