In a glimmer of hope for the scores of people who travel daily from Bengaluru to Hosur (in Tamil Nadu) and vice-versa, the Karnataka government has agreed to a feasibility study to extend Bengaluru’s Namma Metro to Hosur. The ball is now in Tamil Nadu’s court. Hosur is an industrial city and is home to factories of several large companies, and given its proximity to Bengaluru, sees extensive movement.
As per reports, after Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s nod to extend the metro, Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited’s Managing Director Anjum Parvez has now written to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs asking the neighbouring state to undertake the feasibility study to link the two locations.
Krishnagiri district Member of Parliament A Chellakumar, who has been pushing for linking the two locations, told reporters on June 8 that the proposal had been sent by the BMRCL on May 23. He said that this is a dream project for people in Hosur who travel for work to Bengaluru everyday. “If the project is implemented, it will benefit people of both states socially and economically,” he said.
The MP also previously met CM Bommai along with Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah to push for the metro rail. It was soon after this meeting that the CM reportedly agreed to it on a cost-sharing basis. “I focused on getting Karnataka’s consent all this while because that is where a large portion of the project falls. I will now pursue it with the TN government,” Chellakumar told the Economic Times.
According to the New Indian Express, the proposal said that the second phase of the Bengaluru Metro is to extend RV Road station up till Bommasandra, and an additional 20.5 km stretch till Hosur was approved by Karnataka CM Bommai. “Of this, 11.7 km falls in Karnataka and the remaining 8.8 km is in Tamil Nadu. Karnataka government approved the proposal and stated that Tamil Nadu can conduct a study for metro line between Bommasandra to Hosur," the proposal stated, as per the report.
His letter also added that it requires coordination between the two states, as well as costs being shared and other monetary support. Parvez told the the Times of India that the demand is from Tamil Nadu’s side as approval has been given for a feasibility study, and that BMRCL is currently not involved. “Our main priority is to provide Metro connectivity in the Bengaluru Urban district,” he said.
There has been opposition to this approval as well, with activists saying that the government must first focus on connectivity within Bengaluru, and to neighbouring locations such as Mysuru, Chikkabalapur and Tumkur where there are industries.