Finally,Bangalore gets its Metro

“This changes everything,” said Ravi Kanth,a 20-year-old Bangalore University student who,along with his four classmates,missed classes so he wouldn’t miss the inauguration of Bangalore’s dream project.

Rose Joseph,who runs a handicrafts business on MG Road,did not open her store today. “I had to come and see what the Metro is like. And it has lived up to expectations,” she said. “When the Metro comes to south Bangalore,I’ll be the happiest person. I have to ride 12 km to get to MG Road now,” she added.

In the next three-to-four years,the Metro’s north-south and western lines will link most of Bangalore and its suburbs,including the Yeshwanthpur and Peenya industrial areas.

In a city beleaguered by ever-growing traffic,the Metro brings hopes of smoother transit and reduced pollution. But experts remain wary. George Kuruvilla,a well-known urban planner,said the project is a “white elephant”. “Unlike Mumbai,we don’t have high-density areas with skyscrapers that would necessitate huge movements of people. A lower-cost,more advanced option should have been considered,” he said.

To the average Bangalorean,however,the first walk through automated entry gates is beyond exciting. Babu Rao,a retired accountant who took a bus from Banashankari,15 km away,to reach MG Road and get on the Metro,said,“I have lived here for 44 years. Never have I seen such excitement for a government project.”

N Nanjappa,an auto driver,is among those who have turned up at the quieter Byappanahalli station—a hotel and shopping complex will come up in the land adjacent to the depot. Hopping on the train back to MG Road,he pointed out that Rs 15 is a small price to pay for the airconditioned comfort of the journey. “Perhaps,in 2014 when the Metro will cover about 40 km,I will be out of work,” he said.