Big cheer to Anjanapura metro but ridership below par on Day 1

Siblings Maya Pai and Harish Naik were among those were took the metro on the first day. DH PHOTO/CHIRANJEEVI KULKARNI

A metro train arrives at the Thalaghattapura station on the first day of the opening of the Yelachenahalli-Anjanapura new line on Friday. DH PHOTO/PUSHKAR V

There were few riders on the Friday. DH PHOTO/PUSHKAR V

The inauguration of Namma Metro’s Yelachenahalli-Anjanapura line has brought relief to people living in the vicinity of the 6.29-km corridor. The completion of the construction cheered them as much as the first ride on the metro train.

Lakshminarayan D L, 58, who owns a small farm off Kanakapura Road near Thalaghattapura, said he was a relieved man now because travelling from Yelachenahalli to Nice Road junction had become a torture, especially in the last two years.

“We are so relieved with the opening of the metro line. I am happy that the metro has given us back half of the carriageway on our road (Kanakapura Road). There were days when I spent nearly an hour traveling from Banashankari to Thalaghattapura,” he said.

Lakshminarayan was, however, noncommittal about giving up his car for metro. “I first need to calculate the time and cost. If it turns out that I’m saving both, I will definitely take the metro,” he said.

Many residents seemed to be thinking along similar lines because only 5,000 people rode the metro on the new line on Friday, the first day of the commercial operation.

There were, however, people like Sridhar Prasad, who runs an industry in Harohalli, who see the new line as a dream come true. His factory is in the Harohalli industrial area and the office next to the Jayanagar metro station. "I will take the metro whenever I have go to the factory. I can escape the traffic on the roads. I can board a bus from Silk Institute and reach Harohalli without any hassle,” he said.

Siblings Harish Naik and Maya Pai had come to look for a property that the latter owns near Thalaghattapura. “I had taken the metro in Singapore and Europe. Having such a facility near to your home is so convenient," Maya said.

Limited ridership

BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth said about 5,000 passengers travelled on the new line on the first day. The number is far below the pre-Covid estimates when officials expected that the 6.29-km stretch would see a daily ridership of 75,000.