BENGALURU: The news that Namma Metro is coming to the bustling Whitefield, which has a perennial problem of bad roads, was music to the ears of most residents. However, as the construction activities on the Byappanahalli-Whitefield corridor are gaining momentum, many are apprehensive about the work throwing traffic in the IT corridor out of gear. The work, which began two week ago, is expected to be completed in four years. The BMRC's plan is to construct the 15.5-km corridor with 13 stations in two sections —one from Byappanahalli side to Visveswaraya Industrial area and the other from Whitefield towards Doddenakundi. This will cost Rs 670 crore and Rs 666 crore. "The roads in Whitefiled are not just narrow but one-ways too. At several points, there are not many alternatives through which we can divert traffic to reduce congestion. Travel time will be doubled till the construction is over," said Kasim Raja,...
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ACP (planning), Bengaluru traffic police. Deepanker Ray, who travels from Sarjapura to Hoodi every day, said he used to take an hour to travel earlier. "For a week now, commuting from Doddenakundi to Hoodi only takes more than 45 minutes. I'm going to work in the Bellandur campus of my company from now on and come to Whitefield office only once a week," he said. Even some residents are shifting from different parts of Hoodi, Mahadevapura and KR Puram to Marathahalli, claimed Pravir Bagrodia, member of Whitefield Rising. "They will be staying for a couple of years in Marathahalli. I take 90 minutes to cover 12-km distance from Whitefield to Domlur. Residents will bear the brunt because the commuter rail services from Whitefield to Byappanahalli did not take off before the Metro construction began and not many feeder buses are provided from Hoodi to Byappanahalli," he pointed out. He said the congestion will increase pollution levels too. "Many trees in EPIP and ITPB areas have already been axed to give way for Metro. They could have been translocated," he added. According to traffic police, the road widening being undertaken by BMRC will not help much. "Cabs and mini buses that ferry employees park on the roads as the tech companies do not allow private vehicles inside. This adds to bottlenecks. We have already sought the support of companies to allow parking at reasonable rates so that vehicles do not block roads," Raja told TOI. Members from Whitefield Area Commerce and Industries Association (WACIA) have also discussed if industries could have staggered shift timings till the Metro service is ready. However, no decision has been taken in this regard. "We are willing to meet all the stakeholders—Whitefield Rising, industry bodies, commercial establishments, Bescom, BWSSB, BMTC, traffic police and BMRC to discuss possibilities to reduce loss to business," said R N Hegde, member of WACIA.

HIGHLIGHTS Pro-Kannada activists gearing up for a large-scale protest against the alleged imposition of Hindi Activists of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike had recently blackened signboards at Metro stations Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah BENGALURU: Amid the raging controversy over the usage of Hindi in Metro trains, the government has come under pressure to take a clear stand and formally ask Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) to use only Kannada and English in signages in trains and stations. Pro-Kannada activists gearing up for a large-scale protest against the alleged imposition of Hindi have urged the government to come up with a clear-cut policy, without which confusion over the language issue will continue to disturb law and order. BMRC officials say they are caught in a bind and can not remove Hindi from signages without written instructions from the government. "The government has to make up its mind and take a decision before the situation...
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gets out of hand. With agitators disfiguring signages at Metro stations, the situation has become fluid. We are helpless as we are still awaiting the government's instructions," a BMRC official said on condition of anonymity. Activists of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), which is spearheading the anti-Hindi campaign, had recently blackened signboards at Metro stations and staged a demonstration in front of the BMRC office. Kannada Development Authority (KDA), which has already shot off a missive to BMRC asking it to eliminate Hindi from its signages and public announcement system, is scheduled to visit the utility's office on Tuesday. "We will assess the situation. Based on the findings, we will write to the government asking it to issue clear directions to BMRC to adopt a two-language policy and use only Kannada and English in all its communications," said S G Siddaramaiah, chairman, KDA. Interestingly, the government, which is said to be sympathetic towards the Kannada cause, is yet to issue any formal directive to BMRC on the issue. Chief minister Siddaramaiah is said to have orally instructed the utility to reduce the usage of Hindi, while Bangaluru development minister K J George has asserted that the government is for Kannada supremacy. This is in contract with the Centre, which had written to BMRC asking it to use Hindi in its public communications. In a letter to BMRC dated December 9, 2016, under secretary to the Union ministry of urban development, had invoked the Official Languages Act 1976 and instructed the corporation to use three languages, Kannada, Hindi and English, in signboards, name boards, announcements and publication material. The state government had written to the Centre earlier on July 2, 2016, seeking exemption for Namma Metro from the Official Languages Act. In the letter to the secretary, ministry of urban development, then chief secretary Arvind Jadav wrote: "Since BMRC is not a Government of India public sector unit, the mandate of using Hindi under the Official Languages Act should not be made applicable to Namma Metro." However, there has been no reply from the Centre since then. 'We want to focus on development' Pradeep Singh Kharola, managing director of BMRC, said it is up to the government to take a call. "As an institute, BMRC wants to focus on developmental issues such as the work under progress for Phase II of the project. The rest is left to the government," he said. 'Take pro-active steps' "Just writing to the Centre and keeping quiet will not help. We demand the government take pro-active steps," said TA Narayana Gowda, president, KRV.

LUCKNOW: Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) is expected to begin construction on the last station of Lucknow Metro's 23-km North-South corridor— Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport Metro Station—in October this year. According to the Rs 270-crore contract the agency signed with Delhi-based firm Sam India last week, the underground station of about 7500 square metre area is to be built within 30 months.Currently, LMRC is waiting for Airports Authority of India's permission to begin work. AAI gave its nod for building the station 100 metres away from the airport premises two months ago, fixing certain amounts to be paid by LMRC for permanent and temporary lands it acquires from AAI. An official privy to the development said, "AAI had sent us a letter two months ago mentioning rates of the land we would take to build the station. We have given consent to all conditions and have been following up with them...
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for their final go-ahead."
The airport metro station will have two-storeys—concourse and platform level, and two entrances—one leading to the international terminal (T1) and the other to domestic terminal (T3). At both entrances, passengers would have to go upstairs to reach the concourse level of underground station. Here, LMRC will provide facilities that people may utilise before their next flight or metro ride.
Under the contract, the contractor has to conduct geo-technical survey of AAI's land—which includes soil testing, checking if utilities exist and have to be shifted, and whether the soil can support the infrastructure or not, among other aspects—make structural design of metro station, and finally construct it after LMRC's approval. An official said, "The soil survey and structural design may take about three months, so we expect the groundwork to begin by October."
Airport metro station would be slightly bigger than the rest of the underground stations and the construction cost will also be on the higher side because of the land's price. The company which has bagged the project has worked in a prime role in Delhi Metro-Rail project earlier.

कटिहार : डीआरएम कार्यालय के सभागार में मंगलवार को डीआरयूसीसी की 82वीं बैठक आयोजित की गयी. डीआरयूसी के सचिव सह सीनियर डीसीएम बीके मिश्रा ने सभी सदस्यों का स्वागत किया. साथ ही सभी सदस्यों का अधिकारियों से परिचय कराया. सभा को संबोधित करते हुए डीआरयूसीसी के चेयरमैन डीआरएम सीपी गुप्ता ने बताया कि कटिहार डिवीजन में यात्री सुविधा के मद्देनजर अनेक कार्य किये गये हैं. इस को बेहतर बनाने के लिए हम लोग लगातार प्रयासरत हैं.

एक अगस्त से तेजनारायणपुर-कटिहार रेलखंड के लिए हीरो होंडा शोरूम के पीछे मनिहारी...
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टर्मिनल से डीएमयू ट्रेन का परिचालन किया जायेगा. कटिहार रेलवे स्टेशन के प्लेटफाॅर्म संख्या 8 का निर्माण कराया जायेगा. इसका प्रस्ताव रेल मंत्रालय को भेज दिया गया है. ज्ञात हो कि कटिहार स्टेशन में वर्तमान में सात प्लेटफाॅर्म ही हैं, जहां से रोजाना दर्जनों की संख्या में ट्रेनों का परिचालन किया जाता है. ट्रेनों की अधिकता होने की वजह से प्लेटफॉर्म पर ट्रेनों को प्लेस करने के लिए घंटों आउटर पर रोक दिया जाता है. इससे रेल यात्रियों को परेशानियों का सामना करना पड़ता है. प्लेटफाॅर्म की संख्या बढ़ने पर कुछ हद तक इस समस्या से निजात मिलनी की संभावना है.

उन्होंने कहा कि इसी वित्तीय वर्ष में स्टेशन में एक्सीलेटर लगाया जायेगा. साथ ही बारसोई, लाभा, तेलता, आजमनगर, समसी व अन्य रेलवे स्टेशनों पर यात्री सुविधा बहाल की जायेगी. सभा में किशनगंज से आये सदस्य मो जहांगीर ने कहा कि पोठिया रेलवे हाल्ट स्टेशन पर बालुरघाट-सिलीगुड़ी इंटरसिटी एक्सप्रेस का ठहराव नहीं दिया गया है. इससे 22 पंचायतों के लोगों को प्रतिदिन जिला मुख्यालय आने जाने में परेशानियों का सामना करना पड़ रहा है. इस बाबत डीआरएम सीपी गुप्ता ने बताया की गाड़ी संख्या 15463 /15464 का ठहराव हलवाबाड़ी रोड स्टेशन पर दिया गया है, जो पोठिया से मात्र 4.81 किलोमीटर की दूरी पर है.

बालुरघाट-सिलीगुड़ी इंटरसिटी एक्सप्रेस के ठहराव के लिए जांच कर प्रस्ताव मुख्यालय भेजा जायेगा. सदस्य डॉ राम निवास शर्मा ने सभा में बाटा चौक से मॉडल स्टेशन तक सड़क को दुरुस्त करने, 14019/20 का वाणिज्य ठहराव कटिहार में देने के संबंध में पूछे गये सवाल पर उन्होंने कहा कि रेलवे के अंतर्गत आने वाले रोड को दुरुस्त कर दिया गया है. बाकी बचे रोड की मरम्मत के लिए स्थानीय प्रशासन से संपर्क किया गया है. जल्द ही कार्य को पूरा कर लिया जायेगा. सभा में सभी सदस्यों के साथ-साथ एडीआरएम डीएल मीणा, सीनियर डीइएन राजवीर, सीनियर डीओएम, सीनियर डीइइ, डीसीएम व रेलवे के अन्य अधिकारी मौजूद थे.