Govt examining viability of Metro in three cities; minister

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Friday saidthat his government was examining the viability and pros and cons of establishing Metro Rail projects in Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi-Dharawad.

He also announced that by adopting certain modifications in the Suburban Rail Policy-2018, suburban rail services in Bengaluru would be implemented at a total estimated cost of Rs 23,093 crore, by establishing a Special Purpose Vehicle called Bengaluru Rail Infrastructure Development Entity (B-RIDE) under State and Central Government partnership.

"Generally, across the world, the Metro Rail System can be found in cities having more than 20 lakh population. This is economically useful also.

However, certain demands have been received from Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi- Dharawad to establish the Metro Rail System in these cities," Kumaraswamy said.

Presenting his government's second budget in the legislative assembly, he said that in this background, they were examining the viability and pros and cons of establishing Metro Rail Project in these cities.

The existing operationalised Bengaluru Metro has 42.3 KM network,carrying an average of 3.75 lakh passengers every day.

Also, 'Parking Rules and Implementation Programme' would be prepared in Tier-II cities, the chief minister said, adding that a study would be conducted on reformed traffic information and maintenance system.

To provide facilities to passengers and reduce traffic congestion in Bengaluru, a design and action plan report would be prepared for Multi Modal Transport Hub at Hebbal, Byappannahalli, K.R.Puram, Kadugodi, Challaghatta and Peenya areas, he said.

There were plans to develop necessary infrastructure to provide seamless integration between Metro, Rail and TTMC at its strategically located transit infrastructure sites to facilitate Inter-Modal Integration design in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy said.

He also said that he intended to launch a comprehensive scheme for the mobility of Bengaluru,adding that an important aspect of it was to decrease movement of private vehicles by concentrating on well established public transport.

This year, for the benefit of pedestrians, footpaths coming within a 50 km radius of the city would be developed, for which a grant of Rs 50 crore would be provided.

The budget proposed that the about five lakh street lights in Bengaluru be converted to LED in the next three years.

Action would be initiatedto upgrade these lights into smart LED using the latest technology, he said.

Also, the prime commercial streets in Bengaluru like Church Street, Commercial Street and Brigade Road would be converted into pedestrian roads, the chief minister said.