Bengaluru: Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai today directed BMRCL officials to complete Metro Phase 2 works by 2024 instead of 2025.  

He witnessed the breakthrough of tunnel boring machine Urja in Shivajinagar Metro Station today, drilling tunnel from Cantonment to Shivajinagar Station. 

Speaking on the occasion, he said that, So far 855-meter tunnel has been drilled from Cantonment Station. BMRCL Officials should make all preparations to reschedule the completion of metro phase 2 by 2024, he said. He advised to enhance manpower to speed up the work. People are extending cooperation to the metro work.

When metro Phase 2 is completed 56 km would be added to the network and phase 3 would be taken up. When all three phases are completed, Metro would be the lifeline of Bengaluru, he said.

He appreciated BMRCL for implementing works scientifically, giving utmost priority to Safety despite several challenges. During the first phase, many challenges were posed. TBM had got stuck near Majestic, he recalled. Today, the best TBM Urja is drilling the tunnel and 855 tunnel is drilled he said.

Chief Minister thanked people for extending full cooperation for the expansion of Metro in all directions. He said that the metro expansion till the airport would be taken up soon and Union Government is extending cooperation and providing funds on time.

Forest, Food and civil supplies minister Umesh Katti, Cooperation Minister S.T. Somashekhar, MLA Rizwan Arshad and Additional Chief Secretary Urban DeveloppmentDepartment Rakesh Singh, BMRCL MD Anjum Parvez and others were present.