Bengaluru News: Suburban rail project sluggish

Bengaluru: The only corridor of Bengaluru Suburban Rail where work has started – Corridor 2 from Benniganahalli to Chikkabannavar – is progressing at a slow pace, although one and a half years have passed since the work order was issued. A large part of the required land is still yet to be handed over to the contractor. A severe labor shortage had affected the contractor, but this was resolved recently. ‘The condition of workers has now improved’ Larsen & Toubro Limited won the contract for the corridor (25.01 km) worth Rs 859.67 crore from Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprises (K-RIDE), the nodal agency of the project. Responding to a written questionnaire from TNIE, K-Ride said, “The total manpower excluding supervisors and engineers is more than 400 as on date.” Another source said, “The contractor faced a huge shortage of workers till Diwali. After that it gained momentum and workers are returning in droves. Most jobs require bartenders and carpenters and we are stuck without them. Labor conditions have now improved.” The monthly billing submitted by the contractor for reimbursement was only Rs 3.5 crore at one time. “Can you imagine how much time a project costing up to Rs 800 crore could take to complete at this speed,” he said. “The average monthly expense billing we are receiving now is around Rs 6 crore,” K-Ride said. Another source said, “K-Ride has not yet handed over a large portion of the land to L&T as the buildings have not been demolished yet. Many of the 280 buildings that were to be demolished could not be acquired. The alignment has been slightly changed leaving less space near the track and now only 180 buildings are to be acquired. In Banaswadi, 65 buildings are to be demolished, 85 in Kanakanagar and 95 in Lottaganahalli. Of the required private land, 2.9 acres near Kanakanagar and 2 acres near Lottaganahalli are yet to be acquired. They come under the rehabilitation and resettlement package.