Infosys arm offers Rs 200 cr to Bengaluru metro, to be used to extend project

"The Foundation's contribution will be used to build the Konappana Agrahara metro station," Kumaraswamy said.
Infosys arm offers Rs 200 cr to Bengaluru metro, to be used to extend project
Infosys arm offers Rs 200 cr to Bengaluru metro, to be used to extend project
Written by:

Global software major Infosys' social arm Infosys Foundation offered to give Rs 200 crore to the Bengaluru metro network project, said Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday.

"The Foundation's contribution will be used to build the Konappana Agrahara metro station and metro track of the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL)," he said, as per an official release.

Appreciating the Foundation for its initiatives for the betterment of society, the Chief Minister lauded its chairperson Sudha Murthy for inspiring other corporates to follow it in discharging corporate social responsibility.

"The Foundation will maintain the station for 30 years and contributing funds to the people's needs gives pleasure in life," said Sudha Murthy, the wife of Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy.

The metro service, which opened to the public in 2011, currently comprises of two lines in its phase one - green and purple - covering a mere 43 km of the 800 sq km city with ever-expanding suburbs.

The state has proposed an extension of the existing lines under phase two, which is expected to be constructed by March 2023.

Set up in 1996, Bengaluru-based Infosys Foundation supports various programmes in the fields of healthcare, education, rural development etc.

Last week, the Karnataka government appointed senior IAS officer Ajay Seth as the new Managing Director of the state-run BMRCL.

The transfer order came within days after the Bengaluru metro rail operator doubled the coaches from three to six in order to ferry more commuters on the east-west Purple line.

Amid fanfare, the six-coach swanky service was flagged off by Kumaraswamy in presence of Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri at Baiyappanahalli station in the east to Mysuru Road station in the west via Kempegowda station in the city centre.

The three additional coaches, manufactured by the state-run Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), were added to one of the metro trains on the east-west purple line, with the first coach reserved for women and children.

The additional cars were added seven years after the service was launched in October 2011 and a year after the former President Pranab Mukherjee opened the entire 43km phase-1 of the metro network, including the north-south green line.

Incidentally, the foundation stone for the metro project was laid by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2006, when Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com