THE TIMES OF INDIA, BENGALURU TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016 7TIMES CITY

Namma Metro’s gain is BMTC’s bane; it incurs loss of `60,000 a day in west B’luru

Aparajita.Ray@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: For Vijaynagar resident Kanaka Kumari who runs a shop on Cunningham Road, Namma Metro has changed the face of commuting. “It takes me 10 minutes to ride to the Metro station. I park the bike there and board a train to Cubbon Park; the journey takes 15 minutes. After a five-minute walk, I’m at the shop,” said Kumari, who no longer has to waste time waiting for buses.

Thousands of west Bengalureans have benefited from the East-West corridor which links Mysuru Road to Majestic, MG Road, Indiranagar and Byappanahalli, all business hubs. Techies and corporates can take feeder buses from Byappanahalli to ITPL and other areas of Whitefield.

Ferrying an average of 90,000 commuters every day, the Purple Line has hit BMTC’s revenues hard. The corporation is losing about Rs 60,000 per day in west Bengaluru alone after the underground stretch opened. Reason: Its feeder services are not a hit.

Two weeks ago, BMTC commissioned a ridership survey of buses plying along the Byappanahalli-Mysuru Road Metro corridor. Ekroop Caur, MD, BMTC, admitted the feed-er system is not much of a draw. “These ser-vices are not popular in west Bengaluru. Initially, there was a high demand for feeder buses in Vijayanagar, Deepanjalinagar and Nayandanahalli but the service hasn’t

fetched us enough revenue,” she said.The jam-packed trains headed to Byap-

panahalli in the morning and Mysuru Road are proof of the change in the travel patterns of citizens. Ajay Janotkar, who shuttles be-tween Vijaynagar and MG Road, said, “Now I can take my own time and rely on my bike instead of BMTC buses. I even have the option

of parking my vehicle at the Metro station. Traffic jams are not a concern anymore.”

BMTC’s feeder bus fleet has 29 vehicles, of which 16 ferry techies to and from Byap-panahalli Metro station and ITPL. Only eight buses can be used by passengers heading to Mysuru Road Metro station from Nagarbhavi, Kathriguppe, PES College and other

surrounding areas.“A lot of people are using private vehicles

to reach the Metro stations in west Bengaluru. That is why the Nayanadanahalli zone has been suffering losses of up to Rs 60,000 every day. But we are raking in high revenue from the feeder services on the Byappanahalli-ITPL route,” said B C Renukeshwar, chief traffic manager (operations), BMTC.

Most passengers feel BMTC buses are not reliable. In the survey, the corporation admit-ted that 80% of its users have complained about erratic bus timings. But BMTC hopes the trend will change with the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) and the updated mo-bile app having being launched. The survey is yet to be completed.

MAD RUSH: The Purple Line ferries about 90,000 passengers a day. However, users prefer private vehicles over BMTC's bus feeder service to reach Metro stations, especially in west Bengaluru

PURPLE LINE

SURVEY REVELATIONS81.6% respondents said no real-

time info on buses

80% complained about waiting period

76% unhappy with ticketing process

76% irked with route deviations

71% complained about drivers skipping

bus stops

55% vexed by driving habits of crew

(Source: BMTC)

TOI

Bengaluru: Food and civil supplies ministerDinesh Gundu Rao is likely to recommend tothe chief minister to waive BWSSB bills to bepaid by the economically weaker sections livingin slums. BWSSB officials estimate the amount tobe around Rs 100 crore, accumulated over the past 3-5 years.

Gundu Rao was speaking at a meeting ofresidents of EWS quarters, organized by the Kar-nataka Kolageri Nivasigala Samyukta Sangha-tane (KKNSS).

According to the residents of EWS quartersand slums in DJ Halli, Koramangala belt, Jayana-gar, Tilak Nagar and Shanthinagar, taps and me-ters were fixed but water does not reach them.

“However, every month we would get a bill ofRs 100, which we refused to pay simply because wedidn’t get any water. The bill amount and a fine/interest for the pending amount was added to thebill and by the end of the year, residents owed theBWSSB thousands of rupees,” said Leelavathi,

president of KKSS, Bengaluru.Responding to the complaints, Gundu Rao

said this issue needed to be resolved. “We have tocome to a final decision and look at waiving theamount. However, it will have to be discussedwith the chief minister. It is unlikely he will saythe amount cannot be waived,” Rao said.

Apart from promising a sub-committee of thevision group, Gundu Rao also said that once amonth, meetings will be held in local areas withthe officials concerned, to look at problems facedby EWS residents.Water, ration biggest complaintsWater and discrepancies in rations and the PDSconstituted the largest number of complaintsfrom residents.

From the lack of water connections to no wa-ter supply despite the availability of connec-tions, free taps and installed meters, most of thecomplaints were against the BWSSB.

“We have to stand in queues for hours togetherin DJ Halli, before we can get a few pots of water.We have no water to bathe our children beforethey leave for school and because of the shortageof water, people have begun to throw awayused clothes simply because they don’t have

water to wash them,” said Yashodhamma, a resi-dent of DJ Halli.

“In Shanthinagar Isro slum, we are depend-ent on borewells, but they too have run dry. If occa-sionally we do get some water, it is more oftenthan not contaminated because the sewage lineand drinking water line run right next to eachother,” said Chandrappa, a resident of the area.

BWSSB officials, however, parroted theirstandard excuse of the Cauvery pipeline andwastage of water.

“You have to remember that we are spendingclose to Rs 50 crore in power bills to pump waterfrom the Cauvery basin up to Bengaluru, which ison a plateau. And when water is provided, it iswasted,” said Mohammad Arif, the executive en-gineer representing BWSSB.

However, activist Ruth Manorama retorted,“There are houses in Bengaluru which have wa-ter for swimming pools, fountains, to maintainlawns and wash cars. We don’t have drinking wa-ter, we know the value of water and how not towaste it.” Instead of giving stereotypical state-ments, officials should prioritize the next phaseof the drinking water project and provide it tothose desperately in need, she said.

No water, no bills: Slum dwellers dig their heels in TIMES NEWS NETWORK

CRORES PENDING

Davanagere: A newly mar-ried couple committed sui-cide by hanging from the ceil-ing of their house in Jagalurpolice station limits of Da-vanagere districtlate on Sun-day evening.

Parashuram, 22, and Ham-sa, 18, residents of Kenchana-halli, got married threemonths ago. They took the ex-treme step after fighting overa petty issue, police said. Oth-er family members weresleeping outside the housewhen the couple hangedthemselves. An investigationis on to confirm the exactcause of their death, policesources said.

After pettyfight, couple

ends livesTIMES NEWS NETWORK

I, Shabin Taj residing at 08,6th cross Pipeline Road Cho-lurpalya Magadi Road Ban-galore-560023 have changedmy name to Shabeen Taj videaffidavit date 20.05.2016 before Notary K.S.Giridhar,Bangalore.

I Nb/Sub K A Narayana AdmBN, 2ASC Trg centre B'lore-07declare that my son name isKanithi Muralidhar and mydaughter name is Divya Sreevide affidavit at 24.05.2016sworn before Notary Meerhassan, B'lore.

I Sub, KB Rana Trg wing 2ASC Trg centre B'lore-07 de-clare that my daughter nameis Neharana and DOB08.11.1993 Vide affidavit dt24.05.16 Sworn before NotaryMeerhassan B'lore.

I, NK/MT A.B.Pathan HQTrg Wing, 2ASC Trg Centre,Blore-07 declare that my son'sname is Pathan Taufik Ajadand Dob 04/11/1999, vide affi-davit dt 30/5/16 sworn beforenotary B.Gopalakrishna Blr.

WEATHERMaximum: 31.2°C,Minimum: 21.7°CRainfall: NilHumidity: 60%

Sunrise(Wednesday): 5.53amSunset(Tuesday):6.42pmMoonrise(Tuesday):1.37am Moonset(Tuesday):2.01pm Forecast: Generally cloudy skywith one or two spells of rain .

Vrishabha Masa 17 - Sri Dhurmukhinama; Samvatsara – Uttarayana –

Vasantha Ritu Tithi: Vaisakha KrishnaDasami Hr. 24-40 Nak: Uttara

Bhadrapada Hr. 24-41 Yoga: Priti Hr.14-15; 23 ShabanKali Day 1869074

Rahu Kalam – 3pm-4.30pm

— Daivajna KN Somayaji

ALMANAC (31.5.2016)