Public sentiment against the location of the Cantonment metro station — part of Namma Metro’s Red Line in Phase II — now has a new supporter. P.C. Mohan, Bengaluru Central MP, on Friday spoke out against the changed location of the station, which moves it away from the Cantonment Railway Station and into a playground located at a distance.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had last month released the new location of the station when it published the entire alignment of the underground section of the Red Line.
Immediately, it was noticed that the location of the Cantonment Metro Station had been moved to a playground owned by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and used by children of a nearby school.
BMRCL had justified the move citing ease of land acquisition as the earlier land had to be procured from the Railways.
However, this was countered by the Railways which released a statement that it had no issues with lending land to BMRCL. It was then promised that the connectivity between the Railway and Metro stations would be provided with a maximum length of 250 metres.
However, those who use the railway station have been stating that this was an illogical move that would hinder efforts at integration of transport.
Mr. Mohan in a Facebook post said that he believed the move was not in the interest of commuters as ‘it defeats the very purpose of encouraging the use of public transport.’
He further said that the Cantonment station, which will play a major role in the city’s suburban rail network, was poised to see lakhs of commuters use the station to alight and switch to Namma Metro in the future.
“I will take up the matter with both the Union Urban Development Ministry and the BMRCL on why the original alignment cannot be maintained,” he said.
‘No formal request made’
While bids for the underground section between Dairy Circle and Nagawara were invited in July, BMRCL is yet to formally write to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) asking for the playground to be handed over for construction of the underground station. “A formal request is yet to be made and so I cannot speculate on the matter. However, as per our discussion with BMRCL, the acquisition of the ground will be temporary as it is being used to take the line below the ground. We have been assured that the size of the playground will not be reduced,” said BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad.
