BMTC plans 45 parking plazas

BMTC plans 45 parking plazas

Staff Reporter

People can park their vehicles at the lot and take a bus to workplace

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

ON THE MOVE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy at the mobile workshop along with Transport Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the development of Traffic Transit Management Centre at Vijayanagar in Bangalore on Wednesday.

BANGALORE: In two years, residents in and around Vijayanagar will have the option of doing their bit to ease traffic congestion and fuel emission when a new parking facility comes up. There will be no need for them to drive their car or two-wheeler all the way from home to workplace. They can park their vehicle just adjacent to Chord Road and take the bus to the workplace.

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will construct a Traffic Transit Management Centre (TTMC), the foundation stone for which was laid by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy here on Wednesday. A similar facility is already under construction in Jayanagar iv Block.

In fact, the corporation has conceived 45 such projects across the city and suburbs primarily to decongest roads, besides reducing air pollution and accidents. BMTC will get funds under the Jawaharlal National Urban Renewal Mission to build eight such centres initially, including the one at Vijayanagar.

BMTC Managing Director Upendra Tripathy said Bangalore was the only city in the country where public transport was being funded under urban renewal mission, although other cities had made similar requests.

The Vijayanagar TTMC, coming up on 3.37 acres of land adjacent to Chord Road, will have a basement and seven floors. While the basement will house the bus maintenance depot, the ground floor will have the bus station and the next three floors will be allocated for parking of 500 cars and 250 two-wheelers.

The upper floors will have shops and commercial establishments, including shopping malls, ATMs, medical shops, facility for payment of public utility bills and so on, offering the public all the amenities at one place. The cost of construction, Rs. 38 crore, will be shared by the Centre (35 per cent), State Government (15 per cent) and BMTC (50 per cent).

Binnypet MLA V. Somanna, BMTC directors P.S. Sandhu and Hemaraju and other senior officials were present.

Transport Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy presented a cheque for Rs. 1 crore on behalf of KSRTC towards the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund while BMTC had offered an equal amount on Tuesday.