City buses to take shelter in Namma Metro wing

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) revealed a plan to develop a bus stand complex, which will house KSRTC and BMTC bus stands around the Byappanahalli  station in 25 acres land. Additionally, around 9.1 acres of land is allocated within the 25 acres for property development. Speaking to Express, N P Sharma, Chief Engineer (Designs and Underground) said that BMRCL will construct a foot-over-bridge connecting the Metro station at Byappanahalli and the proposed bus stand complex. “The foot-over-bridge will be built across the Byappanahalli railway station. It will connect the Metro station to a ticketing counter on the other side. The ticket counter will be adjacent to the proposed bus stand complex,” he explained.He further hinted at future plans of constructing fly-overs and roads connecting the bus stand complex to the  city. However, BMRCL has not prepared the entire project plan and has also not drawn up the budget for it. “The project is in the initial stage. We have not fixed a timeline yet,” he said.As Reach 1 between M G Road and Byappanahalli becomes operational this week, BMRCL is focusing on developing the area around the Metro route. BMRCL has already begun issuing tenders for another project in Byappanahalli, which will involve a commercial complex .