The Namma Metro Stations in Bangalore has no facilities for the specially-abled citizens and Senior citizens. The imposing staircases are enough to cause serious pain to back and calves and for those who are wearing heels, the overall walk is nothing short of agony. It indicates that the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is only for those with a strong pair of legs and body as fit as an athlete.
BMRCL Yet To Fulfill Promise Of Installing Escalators
As per reports, BMRCL had announced 15 months ago that it will install escalators around 29 metro stations in the city. The statement also said that the installation of the escalators would be completed by the end of September 2018. But the project is yet to see the light of the day. The work was started at some metro stations but now has been stopped.
In its announcement BMRCL declared its plans to install the escalators at Kempegowda Metro Station, Myrusu Road, Baiyappanahalli, Attiguppe, Magadi Road, Vijaynagar, Hosahalli, Rajajinagar, Deepanjali Nagar, Dasarahalli, Nagasandra, Yeshwanthpur, National College, Jalahalli, South End Circle, Lalbagh, RV Road, JP Nagar,Banashankari, Jayanagar, KR Market, and Yelachenahalli.
The absence of escalators has been creating mobility issues for the elderly, small children and specially-abled people who are in a hurry to reach the platforms at these Metro Stations. The big problems are the majestic and vertiginous staircases of the stations that prove challenging even to the fittest commuters. And so, for those with disability or mobility issues, such staircases are nothing short of a hurdle.
4 Lakh Commuters Travel Via Namma Metro On Daily Basis
With more than 4 lakh commuters using the facility of Namma Metro for reaching their respective destinations daily having an escalator at each station is just a basic facility for making travel easier for everyone. The lifts at this station are small and have very less capacity. Moreover, these lifts are located to different corners and the commuters have to go in search of them.
Many times, people are also not aware of the existence of elevators at the Metro Stations. The Hosahalli Metro Station has an elevator located on the service roadside but very few people know about it. The Chief Public Relations Officer B L Yeshwanth Chavan said, “The installation of escalators is in progress at various Namma Metro Stations. We have placed orders to procure escalators for other stations.’’
The truth is that the work of installing escalators did begin at Hosahalli, Jayanagar, and Deepanjalinagar stations but now the work has stopped. A signboard at these sites says “Under service inconvenience regretted.” The former MD, BMRCL, Mahendra Jain said earlier that 196 escalators have already been installed in Phase 1 across 40 metro stations and 511 escalators will be installed in Phase 2 at 60 stations.
