Metro likely to go south on June 17; Prez invited for opening

The Namma Metro’s Sampige Road-Yelachenahalli stretch, which will connect south Bengaluru with other parts of the city, is likely to be inaugurated on June 17.

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had invited President Pranab Mukherjee to inaugurate the stretch. The president will be touring Karnataka on June 17 and 18. He will inaugurate the Metro on June 17,” sources in the chief minister’s office said.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) is preparing to celebrate the operation of the entire Phase 1 in a big way.

“We have been preparing for the inauguration. Despite many hurdles, the Metro
has reached a major milestone. This will take public transport in the city to a higher level,” BMRCL managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola said.

Kharola said BMRCL was ready for commercial operations on Sampige Road-Yelachenahalli stretch. “The pending works are minor. We will complete everything within a week,” he said.

Commissioner of Railway Safety K A Manoharan is set to give his report on the safety of the stretch in the next two days. “BMRCL’s work is generally good,” he said, adding that no major changes are required.
Dream come true

Namma Metro’s Phase 1 has been delayed by more than six years due to various reasons, mainly lack of coordination between different agencies and political reasons. Those in the southern parts of the city have been dreaming of riding the Metro ever since the process of land acquisition started.

More importantly, it has been three years since the Yelachenahalli-National College stretch was completed. The delay in completion of the tunnel section between National College and Sampige Road became a major setback to the project.
DH News Service