More than a decade after being identified as a transit hub, Yeshwantpur remains a pedestrian’s nightmare as two crucial projects to connect the different modes of transportation have failed to take off.
In 2011, the Infrastructure Development Department recognised the potential of Yeshwantpur and planned an intermodal transit hub there.
A pre-feasibility report was submitted in March 2012 to plan for the transfer of pedestrians between trains, buses, taxis and personal vehicles. Two years later, Namma Metro began operations from the place.
However, connectivity between different modes of transport has remained a pipe dream despite repeated promises.
While walking between metro and rail stations has remained arduous, passengers switching between the metro at Sandal Soap Factory and the bus at Yeshwantpur TTMC have to walk on unsafe roads with no footpaths.
Last year, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the South Western Railway to build a foot overbridge (FOB) to connect the metro station with Platform Number 6 of the Yeshwantpur railway station and another to cross the tracks near the bridge.
Yet another FOB was planned to connect Sandal Soap Factory to the BMTC bus terminal as well as the IISc campus.
The BMRCL spent Rs 76 lakh in 2019 on preparing a detailed design of the FOBs. The projects have, however, remained on paper as officials say they are still waiting for clearance from the railways.
But South Western Railway’s Bengaluru Divisional Railway Manager Shyam Singh said they had cleared the project. “We reviewed the detailed design of the FOBs and gave our approval two months ago,” he said. Dinesh Kumar Reddy, who travels between Tumakuru and Bengaluru regularly, said the BMRCL and the railways had betrayed passengers.
“The railways has spent crores of rupees on decorating the Yeshwantpur station while passengers struggle to access the station. Metro is busy with new lines and has neglected current passengers,” he said.