Metro work leaves commuters harried

Commuters on the Konanakunte - Sarakki Market Road are a harassed lot these days as there are inordinate traffic jams, thanks to the ongoing work by the Bangalore Metrorail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).

The construction of a 200-foot-wide viaduct across the signal junction is underway here, for which the BMRCL authorities have put up barricades on the road, causing inconvenience to passengers.

Residents in the area said that work was under progress here for the past three years and they put up with all inconvenience till June this year, when the barricades were removed. However, now for the beam work, the barricades have been placed again, leaving the commuters stuck in the junction and the nearby roads for hours together. The situation is worst during the peak hours between 7 am and 10 pm.

“The jam stretches up to two kilometres. The BMRCL issued no notification prior to putting up the barricades,” said P Ganeshan, a resident of the area.

Consequently, on the Kanakapura Road, which is the only arterial road leading to Banashankari-Jayanagar-Basavanagudi- railway station- airport, there are traffic jams throughout the day. Likewise, the 100 feet ring road is the only arterial road leading towards Bannerghatta Road. Long traffic jams are witnessed on both sides of Kanakapura Road and 100 feet ring road. It takes more than 30 minutes for traffic to move either side, said Ganeshan.

The phase II line will have a total of 61 stations, 12 of which will be underground, requiring 180-200 hectares of land and demolition of about 2,000 properties.

BMRCL is to acquire land between Mysore Road terminal and Kengeri, Baiyappanahalli station and ITPB and the RV Road-Bommasandra stretch. Most of this land will be used for building 14 Metro stations between Baiyappanahalli and ITPB, five on the Mysore Road-Kengeri stretch and 16 stations between RV Road and Bommasandra.