Delay dogs Metro work at Majestic

Delay dogs Metro work at Majestic
The KSRTC is clueless about when they would have to shift Majestic bus stand, as the Metro authorities are yet to seek possession of the land due to delay in finalising tenders
SUCHITH KIDIYOOR & SHASHWATHI BHANUKUMAR


The shifting of the KSRTC bus stand at Majestic to facilitate construction of an underground railway station for the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) is likely to be put on the backburner. Reason: The BMRC is yet to take possession of the land as well as finalise tenders for construction work.
This is the fourth time that the work is being delayed and it has put the KSRTC officials in utter confusion. A KSRTC official said, “Earlier, they had asked us to hand over the land on September 30, but it was postponed to October 15. Later they fixed a November 30 deadline, but due to some problem, they still have not acquired the land.”
FUTURE UNCERTAIN
The BMRCL is also not sure when they are going to acquire the land. Last week they floated tenders seeking bids to be submitted by January 13. “We will finalise the tenders by March and only after that will we seek possession of the land. We do not want to inconvenience the public. We want all other formalities to be taken care of before acquiring the land,” said Chief Public Relations Officer Yeshavanth Chavan.
Bangalore in-charge minister and KSRTC chairman R Ashok had earlier announced that the BMRCL will acquire 20.23 acres of land in Majestic area for the Metro project by December-end, but the officials said they have not received any communication from the BMRCL as to when they would have to hand over the land.
KSRTC READY, BMRCL NOT
A KSRTC official said the BMRCL had written to the corporation thrice, requesting that it hand over the land for the project. Though officials of KSRTC made all arrangements to hand over the land, some technical problems in finalising tenders delayed the process, he said. “We are ready to hand over 20.23 acres of land for the Metro project whenever they ask. After completion of the construction work, BMRCL will retain 7.5 acres for its operations and return the remaining land to KSRTC,” added the official.
At Majestic, the underground section will be an interchange point. It will have two levels. The tracks will criss-cross each other, with East-West corridor trains running on the level above the North-South corridor trains 20 metres below the surface. There will be a concourse to allow passenger movement with the elevators and escalators. The station will also have an integrated traffic management system in place.