Bengaluru needs 150 km of Metro lines, says Sreedharan

Principal adviser to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) E Sreedharan on Saturday felt that Bengaluru should ideally have a Metro network spread over 150 kilometres considering its 11 million population.

“The government should set up a commission to find out reasons behind the delay in execution of the 42-km-long Namma Metro Phase I project. The implementing agency should let people know on why there is a delay. Complexity of geology is not the reason. I know things are not moving in the right direction but I do not want to comment about it,” Sreedharan, who is credited with building the Konkan Railway and Delhi Metro, said.

Sreedharan, popularly known as ‘Metro Man’, was in the city to launch the Karnataka Chapter of Foundation for Restoration of National Values (FRNV), a non-profit organisation which he himself heads at the national level. He urged the government to speed up the Metro network within the city on a war-footing.

On introducing a suburban rail system, Sreedharan said: “The state government should take the initiative to realise the project. Under the new policy, the state governments have to bear 51% of the total cost of railway projects,” he said.

Sreedharan said the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) has a limited passenger-capacity and cannot be introduced unless roads are wide.

He mentioned that the newly formed NGO, which intends to work towards bringing in electoral and administrative reforms, would take different measures to make government departments more accountable.

“On the delay in executing the Metro project, the foundation is free to file a public interest litigation (PIL) or Right to Information (RTI) petition. This would put the implementing agencies on their toes,” he noted.

Earlier, at the FRNV programme, he said: “Deterioration in the basic values of people is evident from the manner in which Parliament and state legislatures function and increase in corruption level.

“The foundation would work towards instilling values among people, especially in schools,” he said. V Vishwanath, convenor of Karnataka chapter of FRNV, was present on the occasion.