Is the Metro going to keep its date?

As of today, Namma Metro is all set to roll out on April 4 and Bangaloreans are certainly looking forward to travelling by the Metro. But considering that some of the work is still pending, one wonders whether Metro will really run on schedule. 

While the authorities are hopeful that most of the work would be completed within the stipulated time, people have doubts about the April 4 deadline.

Metrolife spoke to the BMRCL authorities and the people in general to gauge the expectations and understand the situation.  

So will Phase One of Metro be completed on time? Yashwanth Chauhan, a BMRCL official said, “We are planning to open it on April 4 and we are working towards that date. The minimum facilities that are required for the Metro to run will all be worked upon.”

Despite this show of confidence by the authorities, there are many who express their doubt. Manjusha, an advertising executive, says, “I don’t think it will start on April 4 because the work has not been completed. For instance, the coin facility, to get through to the barricade is still not ready. All this has to be sorted out before the train rolls out.

Looks like, it will take some more time.”

Most of the people in the City are eagerly awaiting the Metro because it will cut down on a lot of travelling time and will be convenient. But the pace of work must gather speed. Len, a manager with an IT firm, says, “The Metro depot is close to where I stay, that is near the NGEF. But the station has not reached the completion stage and a lot of work is still pending. There’s so much of work left and the deadline is just two weeks away.” 

Gurpreet, a student of Bishop Cotton Women’s College says, “There seems to be very little progress in this regard. They have been talking about meeting deadlines for a long time now but nothing has been finalised as yet. Doesn’t look like Metro will be ready on schedule.” Even Aditya, an engineering graduate agrees, “By now everything should have been finished but the progress is very slow. They have been pushing the deadline.”

However Seshachalam, a film distributor is optimistic. According to him the Metro will be up and running on Ugadi and the final touches will be given at a later stage.

He says, “I am  pretty confident about it starting on April 4 as 90 per cent of the work is almost over. Even the final run was successfully carried out. So, I see no reason why it shouldn’t be operational.”