Soon you can have a cup of coffee while waiting for the train at the Mahatma Gandhi Road and Byappanahalli metro stations. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) is offering 45 to 70 square metres of space each to set up four shops, two at each station for two years.
Successful bidders will be able to sell hot/cold coffee and tea, branded baked baked goodies and confectionery, and bottled beverages including water.
While the minimum monthly rent will be Rs. 1 lakh for each location at Mahatma Gandhi Road Station and Rs. 80,000 each at Byappanahalli, they will also have to pay non-refundable upfront fee of Rs. 10 lakh for each location at M.G. Road and Rs. 8 lakh and Rs. 6 lakh for the two locations at Byappanahalli.
BANGALORE
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL), which had made tall claims that Phase I of Namma Metro would be complete by December 2013, appears to be preparing the ground to justify the inevitable delay.
In its recent newsletter, BMRCL cited several hurdles in the work progress, the main the slow pace of construction of the underground station and tunnelling work around Majestic on railway property.
Though the Ministry of Railways had asked South Western Railway to clear the construction of the City Railway Station underground station and related tunnelling work, BMRCL is still awaiting formal approval even as the Cabinet Secretary of the Union government is intervening in the issue.
Litigations
The litigation over land acquisition for the Soap Factory Station on Reach 3 (Yeshwanthpur-Swastik) and Cubbon Park underground station (on the Byappanahalli-Mysore Road corridor) are going on. These locations are already six months behind schedule. Litigation involving the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and land owners near Peenya has severely affected the progress of viaduct work on Reach 3A.
The State government is yet to formally approve shifting of the Ambedkar statue which is delaying the Vidhana Soudha underground station work. Work here is six months behind schedule.
Some cheers too
Amidst these setbacks, BMRCL opened its administrative office at the Peenya Depot for the North-South corridor. It also inducted a hydraulic platform with basket mounted on a truck for inspection and maintenance of bearings on the pillars. The platform that can reach up to 23 metres also provides access to the viaduct during emergencies.
Except on stretches under litigation, construction of viaducts has been progressing well and the process of laying tracks has started on many stretches. The longest segmental girder of 41 metres in any metro project was launched on Chord Road near Deepanjali Nagar passing over the Bangalore-Mysore Railway line.
Since commencement of operations on October 20 last year, until March end, BMRCL has ferried nearly 42 lakh passengers and earned a traffic revenue of about Rs. 6.5 crore.
