JOIN USActivists from Hasiru Usiru started a public campaign at the doorstep of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), here on Saturday asking this question.
Calling on the authorities to immediately reassess the social, economic and environment costs of the Bangalore Metro project, Vinay Sreenivasa, co-ordinator of Hasiru Usiru said: “The powers that be, must study and analyse cost effective and better alternatives such as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and arrive at a comprehensive solution to the City’s traffic woes.”
Environmental groups while questioning the exorbitant cost involved in the Metro project say, with just 1/4th of Phase-1 complete, the estimated cost of completing the project will exceed Rs 8,158 crore. “The government will eventually burden the taxpayer to repay the loan taken from various financial institutions,” said Sreenivasa.
Civil society groups also questioned the need to incur huge costs just to carry 12 percent of Bangalore’s population.