Steps taken to develop subway at Shivajinagar

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, JULY 10. The BMTC authorities have taken steps to develop the pedestrian subway behind Shivajinagar Bus Terminal following reports on its pathetic state.

The subway has two wings, one from Shivajinagar Bus Terminal towards Jothi Cafe and another towards the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. Pedestrians coming from and going towards Russel Market and Tasker Town can also use the subway. The subway has eight exits and four platforms. It was built as part of the Rs. 8-crore bus terminal project to help people cross the busy roads in this area safely. None of the traffic junctions in the vicinity have traffic lights to help pedestrians cross the roads safely.

Seepage of groundwater, due to lack of adequate water-proofing in construction, has been the problem in the subway, Water stagnates along the edges of the pathway, and when it rains, more water gets collected, flowing in from the roads above. Water seepage is reported to have been a problem even during construction of the subway. But no action was taken to prevent it. Inadequate lighting in the subway is causing inconvenience to the people. Sometimes, the tubelights and fittings are stolen.

Mr. Vipin Gopalakrishna, Director, Security and Vigilance of the BMTC, said part of the problem regarding the subway was that pedestrians were reluctant to use it. ``They are uncomfortable using any subterranean system and this has been noticed even in the case of the subway linking the City Bus Station with the Railway Station,'' he added.

Subways, which are not regularly used by the pedestrians for whom they are meant, are used by vagrants, beggars and anti-social elements. The BMTC authorities are trying to prevent this happening at Shivajinagar by posting security guards at the subway, patrolling the entrances and by closing the subway at nights. The four smaller exits do not have grilled doors which can be locked. Some pedestrians said the subway could be kept open at least till 9 p.m. instead of being locked up earlier. The closure could be timed with the last of the bus schedules, they added.

The stretch of the subway from Jothi Cafe towards the two exits to Russel Market and Tasker Town sides is considered to be better built. The ceilings in this section are high, the bulbs cannot be easily removed and water stagnation is comparatively less. The question remains why the same standards of construction were not followed throughout the entire subway system.

The BMTC authorities have identified five points in the subway from where water leaks in. Pipes are being installed to take out water before it stagnates. Efforts will be made to replace the tubelights and prevent them from being removed, they said.

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