8 more TTMCs in the City

8 more TTMCs in the City
Bangalore, Aug 23, DHNS:

As many as eight Traffic and Transit Management Centres (TTMCs) will become functional across the City in the next three months.

The Centres provide bus bays, multi-level parking lots and commercial space.

First in the line is the Bannerghatta TTMC to be inaugurated on August 29. The Centres at Banashankari, Vijayanagar, Koramangala, Shanthinagar, ITPL, Yeshwanthpur and Domlur are at various stages of construction and are expected to be operational by October 2010, Transport Minister R Ashok said here on Monday. Two TTMCs - Jayanagar and Kengeri - have already become operational.

The Shanthinagar TTMC is the largest of all with parking space for 1,600 vehicles. Offices of Transport Department scattered across the City will soon be shifted to this Centre. The KSTRC bus services to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Mysore, Kanakapura will also operate from here.

In addition to multi-level parking lots, the TTMCs will also have food courts, banking establishments, departmental stores, reservation counters, health centres, relaxation rooms and other facilities for passengers.

Bids soon

Bids will soon be called for renting out the commercial space at these Centres and priority will be accorded to government offices. However, plenty of space would be available for setting up commercial establishments. Renting out commercial space will also bring in substantial revenue to Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Ashok said.

The minister said the BMTC has completed the process of filling all the 444 backlog vacancies. Appointment orders being issued to 297 divers and 147 driver- cum-conductors, he said. The Bannerghatta TTMC was scheduled to be inaugurated on August 22 but was postponed to Monday.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, BMTC Director P K Garg attributed the postponement of the inauguration to some protocol issues.

Further, the BMTC is also in the process of wooing some private players to construct more TTMCs in the City. Proposals for some of them have been invited, sources said. All the centres under the current plan are under the JNnURM scheme.

Meeting soon

A meeting of elected representatives, officials from various departments and Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike will be convened shortly to discuss measures to check waterlogging and flooding during rains in the City.

R Ashok, who is also the district in-charge minister for Bangalore South told reporters that long term plans would be chalked out to address the problem. The BBMP Control Room has been directed to keep a record of all rain-related complaints received and the course of action taken, he said.

Underpasses

Two ambitious projects of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) - a pedestrian underpass near Town Hall and underpass at Madiwala will be inaugurated by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Tuesday.

The underpass at Town Hall is being opened after a wait of almost a year. After inaugurating the Madiwala underpass, the Chief Minister will take part in mega tree-plantation programme at Domlur. As many as one lakh saplings will be planted on the occasion. Mayor S K Nataraj, MPs and MLAs will attend the programme.

Transport infra

* Jayanagar and Kengeri TTMCs already operational

* Work on centres at Banashankari, Vijayanagar, Koramangala, Shanthinagar, ITPL, Yeshwanthpur and Domlur expected to be completed by Oct 2010

* Offices of Transport Department to be housed at Shanthinagar TTMC

* Commercials spaces to be auctioned soon

* Backlog vacancies in BMTC being filled up