Merchants cheer, commuters rejoice as key road reopened

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: After enduring prolonged periods of slow business, merchants and proprietors on Commercial Street and Kamaraj Road finally see a glimmer of hope.

This, because the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited has “finally” reopened the stretch connecting MG Road and Cubbon Road.

One lane of the 220-metre stretch from Cauvery Arts Junction was reopened to traffic on Friday noon after five years of closure due to the construction of an underground Metro station for the Pink Line, connecting Kalena Agrahara to Nagawara.

The second lane remains closed due to ongoing civil works at the station. During the closure, reports indicated that both businessmen and commuters were dissatisfied, as commuters had to take a 2 kilometre detours to reach Kamaraj Road via Anil Kumble Junction and BRV Junction.

This significantly hurt business prospects and caused commuting headaches. Muzammil, proprietor of a garment store on Commercial Street, hoped that his five-year dull period would soon end.

“It was forty per cent because of the road closure, and sixty per cent because of renovations, the pandemic, and low demand,” he said.

Now that the stretch is open, Muzammil hopes to see his shop filled with customers soon.

“Hopefully in a couple of months, our situation will change,” he said. Mohammed Rafeed, who runs a duty-free shop on Kamaraj Road, praised the authorities for reopening the roads, enabling business as usual.

“It will be easier for us to transport stocks to the shop, and this also opens space for customers to come. The last five years have been very difficult on us,” he said.

Many a regular shopper was delighted to walk to the popular shopping centre from MG Road. Subramanium, a senior citizen and local resident, was relieved to stop having to take the long detour to reach Commercial Street.

“This makes it much easier for me,” he said. Kunal, another shopper, was glad he did not have to spend extra money on travel.

“That’s a few hundred saved,” he added. However, autorickshaw drivers expressed disappointment as they had to slash their rates to half the “usual” price. “Drivers used to charge Rs. 100 for the ride between Church Street and Commercial Street, which is now down to Rs. 50. It is difficult, but one has to be deal with these things,” said Abbas, an auto driver, in a gloomy tone.