Metro won’t obliterate promenade

Metro won’t obliterate promenade
Deccan Herald

The M G Road promenade, the City’s prominent landmark, will stay despite the proposed Metro rail stretch passing through it.

The M G Road promenade, the City’s prominent landmark, will stay despite the proposed Metro rail stretch passing through it.

A day after Deccan Herald published concerns raised by City planners and retired bureaucrats against the pulling down of the elevated walk-path, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) decided to restore the promenade soon after the work on erecting piers (pillars) for the Metro rail is completed.

BMRC declined to make the Metro rail stretch proposed to pass through the promenade underground, citing prohibitive costs. The officials have been so swift in their response that a plan has already been chalked out for this purpose.

“We have decided to not only restore the promenade but also add more beauty to it. We will do landscaping on the entire stretch once the Metro rail project work is over,” BMRC Managing Director V Madhu told this paper.

As per the original plan, the existing elevated walk-path was proposed to be demolished. It was also planned to reduce its height to the road level after the completion of the.

The elevation of the walk-path varies from 1.5 meters to 2.1 meters. BMRC is launching the work on April 15.

But now BMRC has decided to retain the elevation. “Even the bund portion of the walk-path will be restored later. While the width of the promenade is 10 meters, pillars will occupy only 1.6 meters. The remaining 8.4 meters will be retained as walk-path as it is now,” Mr Madhu said.

However, the BMRC is helpless when it comes to the trees on this stretch. Sixteen trees that come in the way of the Metro alignment, will be axed.

Mr Madhu said that an additional sum of about Rs 1400 cr would be needed if the entire seven-km stretch between Byappanahalli and Kanteerava Stadium has to be underground.