Exactly 10 years ago, the first 7km stretch of the Bengaluru Metro between Byapanahalli and MG Road was signaled, raising hopes of a city sinking deeper into chaos in the face of the vehicle boom private. However, to date, only 64 km are operational to date.

The delay in completing the metro project has forced more than 12 million Bengaluru residents to depend on private transport to get around the city. There are at least 9.4 million vehicles plying the roads of Bengaluru, according to the Department of Urban Land Transport (DULT).

The Managing Director of Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL), while congratulating Bengaluru residents and staff for their cooperation, agreed that there was still a lot of work to be done. “Today, Bengaluru Metro, BMRCL (Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited) completed 10 years. On October 20, 2011, the first line started. Today 10 years have passed and it was done with the cooperation of the people of Bengaluru, those who lost their land (for the project) and our employees and we have been very successful in providing this service ”, Parvez said on Wednesday. . He added that there was still a lot of work to be done as only 64 km are operational so far.

So far, only the green line between Yelachenahalli and Nagasandra as well as the purple line between Byappanahalli and Kengeri are operational.

The ridership of the metro is in the order of 500,000 per day compared to the BMTC, which during pre-Covid-19 represented more than 4 million passengers or more than 40% of the city’s commuters.

Work on the metro began in 2007 and the slowness of work so far has resulted in the construction of just under 5 km of operational lines per year.

Parvez said work is underway and subsequent phases would bring the total length to 175 km through a city that will expand to more than 800 km² by December 2024.

This would mean that the agency would have to build and operationalize 55 kms per year for the next two years which is 10 times more than what it has achieved in the last 13 years (10 years since the first line became operational and 13 years since the metro works have started)

In a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Parvez said that the first phase was a learning experience and the following phases would progress more quickly.

Each year of delay adds a minimum of 5% to the overall cost of the project, according to senior metro officials.

The remaining phases include extending lines to Bengaluru International Airport from Silk Board, one of the most congested junctions in the city, if not in the country.

The ??The 15,767 crore commuter train project, another proposed solution to decongest Bangalore, is not expected to be completed until 2026.

Metro officials said more than 1.41 lakh of vehicles have been taken off the road, saving more than 13.25 lakh of vehicle-km since the metro was put into service.

Dependence on private vehicles has increased over the past year and a half as people have stayed away from public transport due to Covid-19.

The poor quality of the roads, the insufficiency of public transport, the increase in the number of private vehicles have also added to the crumbling infrastructure of the city with promises of mass mobility solutions remaining a distant and delayed dream that caused more difficulty due to the addition of bottlenecks to the already unpleasant traffic rumblings. . With most of the roads currently being dug in Bengaluru in the name of the ‘smart city’ and other development projects, dust and vehicle emissions have had a negative impact on the general quality of life due to the pollution of the city. air and water.