PM to lay foundation for metro tomorrow

PM to lay foundation for metro tomorrow
Vijay Times

The much-awaited and much-debated Bangalore Metro Rail project is finally set to take off. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone for the Rs 6,300-crore mass transit project here on Saturday. While the ceremony will take place at the BRV parade grounds at 3.30 pm, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy will inaugurate the new BMRC corporate office the same day.

With 192 columns planned for the first phase of the project, two corridors connecting Yeshwantpur and R V Road on one and Mysore Road and Byapannahalli on the other, the actual construction is likely to begin only in September / October.

However, several issues are still pending. These include the decision on route alignment on CMH Road / Old Madras Road, announcement of tenders, land acquisition and rehabiliation proposals for compensation to property owners who have to part with their land.

Meanwhile, the CMH Road traders plan to stage a protest by putting up hoardings in front of their shops voicing their apprehensions on the Metro Rail project even as the Prime Minister lays the foundation stone on Saturday. The traders feel the project would affect their business if allowed to run on the planned alignment on CMH Road.

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