In Bangalore, a heritage to go; a facility to be gained

In Bangalore, a heritage to go; a facility to be gained

Raghava M.

Metro Rail work begins; the axe falls on M.G. Road promenade

BANGALORE: Machines rumbled into one of Bangalore's most scenic roads on Sunday and began digging the earth. Thus started the work on the Metro Rail project, an ambitious plan to decongest roads and move people faster from one end to another. Yes, in another couple of days you cannot take a stroll down the lovely promenade because it simply won't be there.

Traffic and pedestrians stopped by to watch the commencement of work on Mahatma Gandhi Road for the Rs. 6,400-crore project.

The stretch of raod from the Anil Kumble Circle to G.K. Vale has been cordoned off. Bulldozers smashed into the promenade, removing huge chunks of earth in a levelling operation.

They will dig till they hit rock on which the foundation for the columns of the viaduct will be erected.

This is part of work of the Reach One of the Metro Rail between the Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium and Byappanahalli. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), which is executing the project, has given the contract for the 7-km viaduct to Navayuga Engineering Company. Simultaneously, work has started near the Epidemic Diseases Hospital on Old Madras Road.

Unlike as on CMH Road, traffic was not much affected here; nor was it diverted with the authorities barricading a portion of the autorickshaw lane. The median will be shifted by a metre towards the shops to facilitate smooth flow of traffic.

Last look

Several people visited the promenade to have a last look though BMRCL says it will be restored, but at a lower elevation, once the work is complete.

But that does not reassure many people. For example, Girish, who works for a multinational electronics company, his wife, Uma, and his two children had come all the way from Sanjaynagar.