M.G. eroded?

M.G. eroded?

It's that familiar debate all over again. With work on the M.G. Road portion of the Namma Metro kicking off the last weekend, "inevitable" development once again squares off against its less desirable consequences. As far traffic goes, a possible ban on parking on M.G. Road seems to be the most pressing concern for motorists. Also expected are the inevitable snarls that most such projects have caused in the past.

With M.G. Road, however, there comes the special issue of the promenade, an integral and distinctive feature of the city's main street, so to speak. Authorities say that the promenade has to be demolished to make way for progress, and thus falls another piece of the city's heritage. Of course, the authorities promise the promenade will be rebuilt once the work on the Metro is complete. For many citizens, however, this promise just isn't reassuring enough, considering past governments' track records on issues such as these. While almost everyone is reconciled to the idea of the Metro, questions that do come up are if we really are faced with an either-or situation and if the development is worth the disturbance to heritage, ecology and the daily lives of citizens.


With any sort of development, you have to go through these inconveniences. Any developing city has to go through these phases. It all depends on how fast the work is completed. If the authorities stick to the timetable they have given it will be worth it.

Sanjeev
Branch manager


The issue of inconveniences really depends on how people look at it. The difficulties and compromises that the Metro requires are temporary, coming up only during construction.. But after that, Metro will be very beneficial because it will reduce traffic.

Ashwathy
Student


Everytime some such project comes up, people say that these steps are necessary and take the easy way out. Why not choose the difficult way for once and try to protect the promenade along with the Metro? It is one of the few beautiful things on M.G. Road.

Maheshwari
Student


In the long run the Metro is a good call, but only if they do rebuild the promenade. Of course no one really knows if the government will keep their promise, but if they don't, the public should make a noise. But the Metro is beneficial.

Arvind
Marketing manager