Citizens opposing the change in location of the Cantonment Metro station will be holding a round table conference, which is open to all, to counter the move by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL), which they say, chose to hold a press conference instead of a public meeting over the issue.
Scheduled to take place on Saturday, the public discourse will take up issues related to Namma Metro and the integration of public transport systems in the city, the organisers said.
“Integration between different modes is the need of the hour. Missing any opportunity to seamlessly integrate the bus and train systems will cost us dearly for decades. The round table will bring to light the gaps and solutions,” said Sathya Sankaran, of civic advocacy group Praja.in.
The proposed move to relocate the metro station away from the railway station has attracted severe criticism from citizens, politicians as well as experts all of who agree that it is a bad move.
Tara Krishnaswamy, a member of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), said on Wednesday, “I want to request the politicians and others supporting this shift to just travel by public transport for five days without assistance. Let them walk from their house, catch a bus to the metro station and then travel by train within the city with their files in hand, and then they will see how hard the last-mile commute is.”
Those taking part in the discussion will include Ashish Verma of the Indian Institute of Science; Pawan Mulukutla, head of transport WRI; and Anand G.M., retired railways officer.
“We have invited leaders of all parties, the ministers concerned, members of Parliament, officials of BMTC, BMRCL, Railways, traffic police and the BBMP,” said a statement from CfB.
Highlights of round table conference
Date: October 7
Time: 4 p.m.
Venue: Rotary house of friendship, Lavelle Road
Issues to be discussed
Cantonment metro station relocation
Integration of metro with public transport
Last-mile connectivity issues
Cantonment railway station
Daily footfalls: 40,000
Distance from railway station to proposed metro station
1.2 kilometre (by road)
BMRCL’s argument
Old alignment has 1.8 km tunnel
New one is 800 metres shorter
Travel time reduces by 2 minutes
Savings of over ₹1,000 crore
