<p>Activists from Hasiru Usiru started a public campaign at the doorstep of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), here on Saturday asking this question. <br /><br />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.”<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Civil society groups also questioned the need to incur huge costs just to carry 12 percent of Bangalore’s population. <br /></p>
<p>Activists from Hasiru Usiru started a public campaign at the doorstep of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), here on Saturday asking this question. <br /><br />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.”<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Civil society groups also questioned the need to incur huge costs just to carry 12 percent of Bangalore’s population. <br /></p>
