Eight companies evince interest to build Rs 1400 cr B'lore bus-stand

Speaking at a function where Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy inaugurated a Traffic and Transit Management Centre (TTMC) at Kengeri here, Ashoka said once the proposed project is completed, it would be a world-class bus-stand and a major city landmark.

He said Volvo buses deployed by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) in routes such as airport and IT sector hubs in the city are making profits, rejecting the perception in some quarters that it's financially unviable. The Government planned to press into service Mercedes Benz bus coaches in the Bangalore-Mysore route, Ashoka said.

TTMC of BMTC was built at a cost of Rs 40 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM). TTMC's objective is to provide an integrated transport facility with adequate amenities and conveniences to cater to the requirements of all user groups and reduce congestion of main roads through efficient traffic movement, among others.

TTMCs are coming up in different locations of the city -- Shantinagar, Koramangala, Whitefield, Vijayanagar, Banashankari, Yeshwantpur, Domlur and Bannerghatta and all of them are nearling completion, BMTC officials said.

Reddy said under JnNURM, the Union Government has sanctioned Rs 58,000 crore in the last four-and-half-years, while civic bodies and various state Governments have put in matching funds (Rs 58,000 crore) for urban projects. "You cannot avoid urbanisation. In the modern age, urbanisation is unavoidable", the Union Minister said.

He said at the time of independence, less than 15 per cent of people were living in urban areas. This figure has gone up to 30 per cent in 2010 and is projected to cross more than 50 per cent by 2050.