Hasiru Usiru questions impact of Metro

BANGALORE: It seems the voices raised by the members of Hasiru Usiru every time to stop the ongoing Namma Metro Rail project is going unheard or falling on deaf ears of the state government and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials.

On Saturday, Hasiru Usiru, a group of individuals and organisations, protested outside the BMRCL office on KH Road at the Shantinagar BMTC Bus Stand to oppose the Metro Rail project. The campaign was held to raise awareness among people about the social, economic and environmental impacts of the metro rail.

Vinay Sreenivasa of Hasiru Usiru said the economic impact of the Metro has gone almost unquestioned— a cost escalation of 100 per cent, even before the project is half done. He pointed out that BMRCL MD Sivasailam had said the project, initially estimated at Rs 5,800 crore, will now cost Rs 11,500 crore for Phase 1.

“If the cost has escalated by such a huge margin even before the completion of Reach-1, one shudders to think of the cost by the time Phase 1 is completed. If Sivasailam is to be believed that Phase 2 is expected to be 125 kms, then are we looking at costs upward of at least Rs 45,000 crore for Phase 2 of Metro, at a minimum, without accounting for inflation?,” he asked.

Sreenivasa further said that with 70 per cent of the project being funded through debt, one wonders who will repay the loans? “Is it the people of Bangalore or people of Karnataka? More importantly, are we being just and equitable in spending so much money on one project, which will partially fix one problem i.e., traffic congestion of one city?” It was said that the number of trees to be cut for the project as per the Environmental Impact Assessment was 412, but about 1,200 trees have been axed so far After Phase 1 of the project is completed, its carrying capacity would be 10 lakh people. Green Activists pointed out that the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation ferries around 38 lakh commuters in its 5,500 buses. “Can we then not look at cheaper, quicker, bus-based solutions like the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, which cities like Ahmedabad are opting for?” an activist asked.