Centre approves renaming of 3 Metro Stations on Bengaluru’s Pink Line
Bengaluru: The Centre has approved the Karnataka government’s proposal to rename three stations on the elevated section of Bengaluru’s Namma Metro Pink Line, Minister for Bengaluru Development Krishna Byre Gowda said on Thursday.
The three stations will be renamed as Bilekahalli-IIMB, NS Palya-JP Nagar 4th Phase and SG Palya in place of IIMB, JP Nagar 4th Phase and Tavarekere, respectively.
“Happy to note that State Government proposal has been approved by the Government of India to carry out below station name changes on the elevated portion of the Pink Line,” Krishna Byre Gowda said.
He said the changes were made in accordance with local demands and that the proposals were discussed and finalised in the presence of Minister of Forest, Ecology and Environment of Karnataka Ramalinga Reddy, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and MLAs Satish Reddy and Uday Garudachar.
According to the order, a State Government Committee examined representations received regarding the naming and renaming of stations under Bengaluru Metro Rail Project Phase-2, Corridor-4, and made recommendations to the Centre.
The name of Kalena Agrahara Metro Station has been retained as it is the name of the revenue village. No representations were received seeking a change in the names of Hulimavu and Jayadeva Metro stations.
The committee recommended prefixing IIMB Metro Station with Bilekahalli, the name of the revenue village in the area. The station will now be known as Bilekahalli-IIMB.
Similarly, JP Nagar 4th Phase Metro Station will be renamed NS Palya-JP Nagar 4th Phase, with NS Palya being the name of the revenue village in the area.
The existing Tavarekere Metro Station will be renamed SG Palya (Sadduguntepalya). While Tavarekere is the name of the revenue village, it is located some distance from the station, the order noted. SG Palya, the name of the Greater Bengaluru Authority ward, is more popularly associated with the area, leading to the recommendation for the name change.
Surya Narayan Jha, Deputy Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has communicated the Centre’s approval to the Additional Chief Secretary of Karnataka’s Urban Development Department.
The three renamed stations are part of the 7.5-km elevated section of the Pink Line between Kalena Agrahara and the station previously known as Tavarekere, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate on Friday, November 13.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to flag off the Metro service at 12.30 p.m. near Dairy Circle and travel by Metro to the Bilekahalli-IIMB station for the main event.
The opening of the new section will increase Bengaluru’s operational Metro network from 96.1 km to 103.6 km, taking the city past the 100-km mark and making it India’s second-largest Metro network.
Commercial services on the newly inaugurated section are expected to commence on Saturday.
