Underground Bengaluru Metro Station service flagged off, Siddaramaiah seeks Centre's help for Namma Metro phase III

Union Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs M Venkaiah Naidu and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday evening flagged off the first ever-operational underground metro of South India from the grand stairs of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the objective of the Namma Metro is to provide better commuting facilities in the city and all-out efforts would be made to complete the remaining portion of the phase I of Namma Metro within a few months. "I expect the completion of the all pending works within four months. The delay is due to the hard rock,'' Siddaramaiah said.

Stating that state government has been working to provide better infrastructure in Bengaluru city, Siddaramaiah has sought the cooperation and financial assistance from the Central Government. "The phase II of Namma Metro would cost Rs 26,405 crore and the work is already commenced. If all goes well, the phase II of Namma Metro will become operational by 2020. The state government will contribute Rs 9000 crore for this project and it has already released Rs 900 crore till now. The remaining amount will be released in the near future,'' the Chief Minister said.

Phase 3

Chief Minister Siddarmaiah said that survey work for the phase III of Namma Metro has already begun. "The RITES has been assigned to conduct the survey. I expect Centre's cooperation and financial assistance to take phase III of Namma Metro. The state government's objective is to provide better infrastructure in and around Bengaluru city. In future, around 20 lakh commuters will utilise the Namma Metro train service,'' he said.

Garbage issue

The menace of garbage hogged limelight during the inaugural function of Underground Metro service between Cubbon Park and City Railway Station.

While Minister for Bengaluru Development and Town Planning KJ George had explained how the state government is mulling to have waste to energy units to find a permanent solution for the garbage problems in the city, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has sought residents' cooperation to solve garbage problems in the city. "I appeal the residents to ensure segregation of waste at source. The state government has been trying its best to solve the garbage problems in the city. I seek the residents' help and cooperation,'' the chief minister said.

Rainwater harvesting

Emphasising the need to make harvesting of rainwater mandatory, the chief minister said that all buildings must have rainwater harvesting mechanism. "As of now, the city needs 19 TMC of drinking water per day. The demand for drinking water may go up to 30 TMC water in the near future. If we fail to implement rainwater harvesting, the residents would have to face lot of problems due to shortage of drinking water.

Central govt ready to help

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs M Venkaiah Naidu said the Central Government would be happy to extend all the help and financial assistance to the state government as far as infrastructure is concerned. "I assure the state government that Central Government will extend all help for the phase III of Namma Metro,'' Venkaiah Naidu said.
 
Public transport

Emphasising the need to decongest city roads, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu advised the public to avoid depending on personal transport and opt for public transport. "I want more and more people use public transport to avoid traffic jams on the city roads. I want software companies to encourage their employees to prefer car-pooling. It will be good if people use bicycles,'' Naidu said.

Travel time

It will take generally 35 minutes to travel from one end to other end as compared to 90 minutes taken to travel on road.

Underground stations

• Cubbon Park
• Dr B R Ambedkar
• Sir M Visvesvaraya
• Majestic
• City Railway Station

Elevated (Nov. 16, 2015)

• Magadi Road,
• Hosahalli
• Vijayanagar
• Attiguppe
• Deepanjalinagar
• Mysore Road

Length of the tunnel: 4.8 km

No. of blasts: 10,000 controlled blasts

No. of tree cut down: A total of 2500 trees were cut down during the construction of both lines of Phase I.