Bengaluru metro fare revision deferred as BJP, JD(S) criticise state govt

Bengaluru: BMRCL on Sunday said it has put on hold the implementation of the annual fare revision, which was scheduled to come into effect from February 9.

In a statement, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited said the earlier announcement regarding the fare revision would not be implemented until further orders, indicating that a final decision is still pending.

Clarifying its position, BMRCL said, "The media release dated February 5 announcing the implementation of the annual fare revision with effect from February 9 has been kept on hold till further orders."


The corporation added that the matter would be taken up by its board before any final decision is made.

"The decision on the revised fare will be communicated after the board's review," the release added.

Earlier in the day, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya spoke to commuters to gauge their views.

Later, he told reporters that they were upset over frequent fare revisions and accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar of "misleading the public by blaming the Centre for the fare hike.

Surya also demanded the constitution of a Fare Fixation Committee (FFC).

On Saturday, he said that Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar had instructed officials to temporarily put the proposed metro fare hike on hold.

Surya added that the minister also assured a personal review of anomalies in the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) and said a fresh committee could be considered if the state government requested it.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy blamed the state government for the metro fare hike.

He alleged that despite the Centre asking the state government not to implement the hike, it was insisting on going ahead with it.

"After increasing metro fares, the state government is passing the buck to the Centre, which is untrue," the JD(S) second-in-command told reporters in Mysuru.

Kumaraswamy further charged that the state government was unwilling to maintain a good working relationship with the Centre for implementing central schemes and policies.

Reiterating its service commitment, BMRCL said it continues to prioritise commuters' interests.

"BMRCL remains committed to providing safe, reliable, and affordable metro services to the citizens of Bengaluru," it said.