Soon, the Metro will glide over Bangalore’s Hyde Park

South Parade, as Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road was known before independence, is featured in many vintage photographs. It is the location that stands for the city, the hub of commercial and leisure activities.

Since April 2007, when the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation began work, however, this stretch of arterial road has suffered immensely.

The bougainvillaea-lined promenade that stretched from Anil Kumble Circle to Parade Grounds near Cauvery Emporium was bulldozed, and the construction of the elevated tracks made the whole stretch a work-in-progress.

With the first trial run on Reach 1 Phase 1 of the metro occurring on Monday, however, metro officials were quick to address the issue of restoration of MG Road.

“We are Bangaloreans ourselves, and we know what MG Road once looked like. We will bring back the green canopy, the sparkling lights, once our commercial operations on the elevated track from MG Road towards Ulsoor begins,” said BLY Chavan, chief public relations officer of the BMRCL.

The BMRCL has promised to reconstruct damaged roads and footpaths, and plant flowering trees. “We will plant gulmohar and jacaranda trees, and also use a lot of shrubs below the tracks, on both sides of the road. We will work with the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and the horticulture department to bring back the glory of MG Road,” said a source in the BMRCL, which envisages a restoration that will make MG Road resemble London’s Hyde Park, on whose edges there are stations of the underground metro.

Metro has also announced a competition, inviting students to participate in the interior design of the Mahatma Gandhi Road station. Student art could also find a place on the medians covering the pillars of the tracks.

“The medians will add to the beauty of the walkway on MG Road,” said UV Vasanth Rao, general manager (finance), BMRCL, as he initiated the competition. Rao said that wherever the medians are located such that there is adequate sunlight, flowering plants could be planted; where sunlight is scarce, small fountains could come up.

The BMRCL has estimated the cost of restoration of MG Road at Rs5 crore. Tenders for the work are expected to be called soon.