It is 'namma' Metro, give us what we want: citizens

Citizens’ participation in governance, last seen during the protest against the steel flyover, was again evident on Saturday as people’s representatives and activists decided to fight for the city's needs.

A round table discussion called by a group of four NGOs to discuss integrity of transport and access to Metro stations soon turned into a platform to shape the future of the city with a vision.

Ashish Verma, associate professor of Transportation Engineering at Indian Institute of Science, supported the demand of urban transport expert Sanjeev Dyamannavar and resident of Vasanthagar, Rajkumar Dugar, that Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) should build the proposed Metro station at Cantonment in front of the railway station.

“The future of mobility in a growing city like Bengaluru doesn’t stop at physical integration of multiple modes of transport. There is need for a larger coordination among different agencies working for the city and its residents. So we need one overarching body that connects all of them,” he said, after making a detailed presentation of the delay caused by lack of last-mile connectivity.

Urban transport expert Ashwin Mahesh said it was unfortunate that citizens had to demand integration of transport at Cantonment. “The subject of the discussion should be how to get it done. We need an action plan to get what the citizens want,” he said.

MPs P C Mohan and M V Rajeev Gowda, MLA C N Ashwath Narayan and BMTC chairman Nagaraj Yadav assured people that they will represent their demand at the highest level.

Civic expert V Ravichandrar and urban architect Naresh Narasimhan questioned BMRCL's decision to "boycott" the citizens meet. "Is it Namma (our) Metro or ‘nimma’ (your) Metro? It is not technical reasons we are facing at Cantonment. The problem is BMRCL’s giant ego. Our agencies and officials should learn from previous mistakes," Narasimhan said.
MP moves Delhi officials over Metro station

Bangalore Central MP P C Mohan said he has already written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urging him not to change the location of the proposed Cantonment Metro station. "I received no reply. So, MP Ananth Kumar an I approached the secretary at Union Ministry of Urban Development Department and expressed our opposition to BMRCL's move. I have sought a joint inspection from central officials to put an end to the issue," he said.