The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘There will be no car parking zone or mall at metro station’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 21, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘There will be no car parking zone or mall at metro station’

Staff Reporter

Lal Bagh and other stations on the stretch will not have the facility

BANGALORE: Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on Tuesday said there is no proposal to create parking zones and malls in the metro railway station to come up at Lal Bagh or in any other stations on the stretch.

BMRCL made this submission before the High Court of Karnataka when it filed a statement of objections in a public interest litigation (PIL) petition by Mahaveer Ranka and others of Jayanagar challenging its (BMRCL) decision to acquire part of Lal Bagh and fell trees on Lakshman Rao Avenue from the South End side.

The statement said the Lalbagh station is coming up for the benefit of the public and it is necessary for the metro rail project. It said the decision regarding location of the station was arrived at after a detailed survey and planning.

It described as false allegations by the petitioners that the Lal Bagh station would slowly kill the botanical garden as only a small part is being acquired. It said Lal Bagh comprises 243 acres and only 1135.18 square metres are being acquired.

The traffic demand for the metro was arrived at after using projections developed by the Central Road Research Institute.

Under this system, Bangalore Metro will carry a peak-hour, peak-direction load traffic of 40,000 persons.

BMRCL put the cost of the metro rail project at Rs. 6,395 crore, including cost escalation of five per cent a year.

It said there is no question of changing the alignment now as work has commenced. It said there is no acquisition of private property for metro stations coming up at Lal Bagh and R.V. Road. It said acquisition of land would be more if the stations were planned underground.

A Division Bench, comprising Justice N.K. Patil and Justice V. Jagannathan, directed the parties to file their objections to the BMRCL statement and adjourned further hearing of the case.

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