Metro work on CMH Road to begin soon

Metro work on CMH Road to begin soon
Traders To Intensify ‘Non-Aligned’ Movement
R Krishnakumar | TNN

Bangalore: Namma Metro will soon take a turn from MG Road and chug along CMH Road with the BMRC preparing to commence the work on that stretch.
The stage is now set for yet another face-off between traders on CMH Road in Indiranagar and BMRC. With the traffic police expected to effect regulation on the road next week to clear way for the work, traders have decided to take the move head on.
A notification on traffic regulation, will, in effect, signal commencement of the next phase of work on the road that has been caught in a cross-fire over the Namma Metro alignment. Groundwork on Metro, including laying of piers and installation of viaducts, is being taken up on the road, N Sivasailam, managing director, BMRC, told TOI on Wednesday.
Officials in the traffic police department said the regulation on the road will be implemented from next week. K Srinivas, DCP (traffic), East, said there will be “total ban’’ on traffic movement on one stretch of the road. “Traffic from Adarsha theatre to the 100 Feet Road junction will be banned. Other roads will be open for motorists as an alternative,’’ the DCP said.
Traders’ take
Traders on the road, who are set to lose property to the Rs 6,395-crore project, countered the move saying the matter was still in court. A public interest litigation filed by the CMH Road Shops and Establishments Association (CMHRSEA) challenging the validity of Namma Metro was admitted by the Karnataka High Court in March this year. Sivasailam, though, clarified that there was no stay on construction work for the project.
Imtiaz Ahmed, president, CMHRSEA, said the traders were unanimous in fighting any move to commence construction on the road. The traders, on Tuesday, convened a meeting in this connection and decided to intensify their agitation against the Metro alignment, that they claimed was being pushed on them without legal or technical validity.
The traders have iterated their contention that the alignment would displace more people and involve higher costs. “If the alignment is shifted to Old Madras Road, the state will be saving at least Rs 500 crore. Despite repeated discussions with BMRC over the past five years, there has been no redressal of our grievances,’’ Ahmed said.
The protesting traders alleged that BMRC was hurrying up with the work so that it can later submit to the court that the project had gone too far and it was late for a revocation.
ON THE ROAD
Traffic regulation on CMH Road next week Total ban on traffic between Adarsha theatre and 100 Feet Road junction Traders plan intensified agitation PIL against the project in court ALIGNMENT HURDLE
The row over Namma Metro’s alignment on CMH Road is a hurdle that the BMRC has not been able to pass even after years of deliberation. The state government had set up a committee under Justice K Shivashankar Bhat to analyse the alignment on CMH Road/100 feet road and alignment on Adarsha theatre/OMR, as suggested by the traders.
The committee, in its report in April 2006, detailed the merits and demerits of the two alignments. It recommended the CMH Road alignment provided the number of stations was reduced to one, from two. The BMRC stuck to the recommendation with regard to the number of stations. The traders, though, continue to maintain that the alignment would unfairly displace the old business centre while further burdening the state exchequer.