Flags of the BJP and Congress.
Credit: PTI Photos
Bengaluru: The long-delayed opening of Namma Metro's Yellow Line has taken a political twist, with the ruling Congress and Opposition BJP planning separate protests on Saturday.
In a social media post on Friday, Bangalore South MP LS Tejasvi Surya criticised the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for missing at least a dozen deadlines on the opening of the 19.15-km RV Road-Bommasandra metro corridor.
"...there is now buzz again of an early August launch. But how do we know this is not like the dozen earlier missed deadlines? Tomorrow’s meeting is to lodge our disapproval attitude that takes the public for granted. It is to ask for accountability. There has been enough headline management. We need a REAL commitment," he wrote on X.
DH reported on Thursday, quoting senior BMRCL officials, that the line would be commissioned in early August with three trains and a 25-minute frequency. The BMRCL expects the Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) certification for signalling tests by July 7-8, while the statutory safety inspection will take place after July 15.
The Yellow Line was slated to open in 2021, but civil work was completed only in early 2024.
"Bengalureans continue to struggle with traffic jams daily, especially at the Silk Board junction & many parts of the IT/BT corridors through which this line passes. Our patience has worn thin. We feel we are taken for granted. This is not done," he noted.
Surya will lead a citizens' delegation from Lalbagh to the BMRCL head office in Shanthinagar at 9.30 am on Saturday. Along with Leader of Opposition R Ashoka and BJP MLAs from Bangalore South, he will also meet BMRCL Managing Director M Maheshwar Rao to seek clarity on the opening of Yellow and Pink lines, the double-deck flyover and the release of the fare fixation committee report.
The Congress party also announced a meeting at the BMRCL head office at 9 am to condemn the "delays" caused by the union government.
Led by Transport Minister and BTM Layout MLA Ramalinga Reddy, the Congress delegation will urge the BJP-led Centre to fast-track all technical and administrative approvals, the opening of Yellow and Pink lines and train supplies.