<p class="title">Despite stiff opposition from the corporator and public, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has started to construct a new skywalk at the Cantonment Railway Station intersection in Vasanth Nagar.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Palike is constructing the foot overbridge (FOB), which will be equipped with lifts and escalators, in a public-private partnership (PPP).</p>.<p class="bodytext">“There is public demand for a skywalk here and we have done a feasibility report that clearly says there is a need for an FOB for passengers going to the railway station,” a BBMP officer said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Meanwhile, M K Gunashekar, Jayamahal councillor, said there is no need for a skywalk. Speaking to <span class="italic">DH</span>, he said: “I have sought the report on the parameters used by the BBMP to construct the skywalk. According to me, there is no need for a skywalk where there is a signal. Most people will not use skywalks.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">“BBMP officers are yet to give a report and the details along with a feasibility report to me on why they are constructing the FOB. I have also asked whether the traffic police have given a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to construct the skywalk,” he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to Imtiaz Ali, a resident of Vasanth Nagar, the skywalk will not benefit the elderly or the differently-abled. “The BBMP is constructing the skywalk just to make money by advertisements,” said Ali.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Another senior officer from the BBMP said: “We (BBMP) are not going to spend a penny on skywalks as they will be built under Develop, Build, Fund, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis by the advertisement companies.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Besides constructing them free of cost for the pedestrians, they will pay us ground rent every month,” he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The plan for the skywalk near the Cantonment Railway Station was approved in the BBMP council in June 2017.</p>
<p class="title">Despite stiff opposition from the corporator and public, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has started to construct a new skywalk at the Cantonment Railway Station intersection in Vasanth Nagar.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Palike is constructing the foot overbridge (FOB), which will be equipped with lifts and escalators, in a public-private partnership (PPP).</p>.<p class="bodytext">“There is public demand for a skywalk here and we have done a feasibility report that clearly says there is a need for an FOB for passengers going to the railway station,” a BBMP officer said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Meanwhile, M K Gunashekar, Jayamahal councillor, said there is no need for a skywalk. Speaking to <span class="italic">DH</span>, he said: “I have sought the report on the parameters used by the BBMP to construct the skywalk. According to me, there is no need for a skywalk where there is a signal. Most people will not use skywalks.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">“BBMP officers are yet to give a report and the details along with a feasibility report to me on why they are constructing the FOB. I have also asked whether the traffic police have given a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to construct the skywalk,” he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to Imtiaz Ali, a resident of Vasanth Nagar, the skywalk will not benefit the elderly or the differently-abled. “The BBMP is constructing the skywalk just to make money by advertisements,” said Ali.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Another senior officer from the BBMP said: “We (BBMP) are not going to spend a penny on skywalks as they will be built under Develop, Build, Fund, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis by the advertisement companies.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Besides constructing them free of cost for the pedestrians, they will pay us ground rent every month,” he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The plan for the skywalk near the Cantonment Railway Station was approved in the BBMP council in June 2017.</p>