Metro must be in sync with heritage, green issue

Metro must be in sync with heritage, green issue


Siddaramaiah inspecting Metro rail work in front of the High Court in Bangalore on Thursday.
Express News ServiceFirst Published : 16 Oct 2009 04:34:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 16 Oct 2009 07:15:22 AM IST
BANGALORE: Taking stock of the ongoing work on the underground section of Namma Metro Rail project in front of Vidhana Soudha and High Court buildings, Opposition Leaders in the State Legislative Assembly and State Legislative Council Siddaramaiah and V S Ugrappa on Thursday directed the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) authorities to execute the work in an environment friendly manner.
Inspecting the Metro Rail site on Dr B R Ambedkar Veedhi where alternative roads are being laid on either side of Vidhana Soudha and High Court buildings to facilitate underground Metro Rail station in front of Vidhana Soudha, the Congress leaders said that the BMRCL should keep the safety and security aspects of the two heritage buildings in mind while carrying out tunnelling work.
BMRCL MD N Sivasailam, who was present during the inspection, assured the leaders that the heritage buildings would not be affected due to the underground section work. “The rocks beneath will be cut using advanced technology without affecting the structure and foundation of Vidhana Soudha and High Court for the tunnelling work. Controlled blast and chemical methods will be used to remove the rocks,” he explained.
Regarding security aspect, Sivasailam said that adequate measures would be taken by providing two exits towards Vidhana Soudha and four exits towards High Court.
Further, he said that the statues of Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr B R Ambedkar and Subhash Chandra Bose in front of Vidhana Soudha would be shifted temporarily to facilitate the underground section work. “The statues will be reinstalled in the same locations once the work is completed,” Sivasailam said.
On the disadvantages of translocating the trees that would be chopped for the Metro work, he said that it was difficult to translocate the trees as the success rate is a mere 10 per cent. Sivasailam said that greenery would be restored by planting saplings.
He informed that the alignment of Metro Rail was changed to retain the beauty of Cubbon Park. “Originally, Metro stations were planned at BRV Grounds and MS Building. Since the two stations were dissecting Cubbon Park, the project was realigned and stations were planned at Minsk Square and Vidhana Soudha,” he said.
Despite the Metro Rail project being behind schedule by nine months, Sivasailam was optimistic that it would meet its deadline.