Sliver of hope for BRTS as govt orders project report

The City’s hopes of getting a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) may have floundered in red tape, but the State government has offered Bangaloreans a fresh ray of hope that BRTS can be made a reality.

The government, recently started the process of preparing a detailed project report (DPR) on the BRTS.

The development, however, is the latest in a series of highs and lows over the future of the project.

The previous BJP government had proposed the implementation of the project in first phase along the 32-km-long Hebbal-Silk Board stretch (on the Outer Ring Road). To this end, it sent bureaucrats to visit cities which boasted of successful BRTS models such as Istanbul, London and even Ahmedabad.

 Despite such efforts, the project had failed to go beyond the drawing board, leaving commuters to continue to struggle on one of the country’s most congested roads. All that may change, however.

Tenders floated

On Saturday, the Department of Urban Land Transport (DULT), one of the agencies responsible for the implementation of the project, floated tenders for a detailed topographical survey to be carried out for this corridor.  The survey will provide crucial inputs for the preparation of the DPR.

As part of the survey, a series of control points would be created along the corridor to facilitate verification and/or replication of the survey results in future.

“These control points should be established at an approximate spacing of one km and should be marked on existing permanent structures on the corridor,” a well-placed source told Deccan Herald.  “This can include, for example, flyover pillars and other such structures. All control points shall be connected to the nearest Survey of India GTS benchmark.” 

The detailed survey will provide an accurate base map of existing conditions for all elements along the corridor as well as adjacent properties.

The list of details to be surveyed includes, property edges, compound walls and property gates; footpaths and kerb stones, paved areas (if any), traffic lanes, surfaces (paved/asphalted/RCC/green/unpaved), medians, utility boxes with exact location dimensions, traffic signals, sign posts, lamp posts, bus stops, auto/taxi stands, road markings and so on.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, DULT Director Manjula said: “This is still not the DPR, it is only the process that takes place before it. So, at this stage, it is only a topographical study.”