BMRCL, BBMP speak in different voices
There has been no progress on a skywalk, proposed by the BMRCL, between the Banashankari Metro station and the BMTC bus terminus. BBMP maintains it has received no such plan from BMRCL.
Srivas Raja Gopalan, public relations officer of BMRCL, informed The Observer: “BMRCL, along with the government and city-based architecture firm Venkataramanan Associates, has prepared the design of the skywalk. The execution was left to BBMP. Our job was to finalize the proposed skywalk plan. We handed it over to the infrastructure department of BBMP. We cannot comment on the implementation of the plan because it is not our job.”
As per the plan, the crossroads will be reorganized to enhance traffic flow and create space where trees can be planted. In addition, a circular skywalk with loops is proposed to connect the station and the terminus.
V. Shashank, a student residing in Vajrahalli, said, “I visit Banashankari often to hang out with my friends. The road outside the Banashankari Metro station is always filled with vehicles. With small vendors blocking most of the footpath around the temple, there is almost no space for us to walk.”
Keshav Kumar, a frequent visitor to the Banashankari temple, said: “I travel to the temple from my house by bus. A few months ago, when I read about talks to construct a skywalk in Banashankari, I heaved a sigh of relief. It would help a lot of people, especially devotees…. It would make it easier for people to commute back to their respective destinations. With a lot of people swarming to the temple and the Metro station, vendors occupying half of the footpath and vehicles plying non-stop, it’s hard to walk to the bus stand without breaking a sweat.”
K. Ramesh, an autorickshaw driver, commented: “The situation is particularly bad on Tuesdays and Fridays when hundreds of people flock to the temple and shop at the adjacent market. Traffic goes bumper-to-bumper with horns blaring in all corners. Pedestrians find it hard to walk to their destinations as roads are crammed with vehicles.”
According to a report in The Hindu, among the old projects that found a mention in the Karnataka budget is a Rs 45-crore skywalk at Banashankari junction.
However, Bala Krishna Shetty, an assistant engineer in BBMP’s infrastructure department, said: “We have not received any kind of plan from the BMRCL, nor do we have any future plans to construct a skywalk in Banashankari.”
The Metro station and the terminus will be connected by a skywalk suggested by the BMRCL. The skywalk, which will serve as a pedestrian path and a secure area for vendors, will connect the TTMC bus stand, Kanakapura Road and the Banashankari temple.
