Eco-friendly E-City metro station to promote art

An artist's impression of the Konappana Agrahara metro station to be funded by Infosys Foundation.

The Konappana Agrahara metro station in Electronics City will have an exclusive space for art and craft exhibitions, as the Infosys Foundation has decided to build a sustainable infrastructure that supports artists.

The foundation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) for funding the station on the RV Road-Bommasandra line of Namma Metro's Phase 2.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who spoke at the event, lauded the foundation for its role in the development of the state. The Infosys Foundation will not only fund the construction of the metro station, but will also maintain it for 30 years, he said.

Sudha Murty, chairman of the foundation, said funding the metro station was part of her efforts to give to society what she has received from it. "The metro provides easy and faster mobility in Bengaluru. We can't expect the government to do all the work. When people join hands with the administration, many works can be realised," she said.

Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said there were many big companies in Bengaluru that take up works under corporate social responsibility. "The MoU should show the road for other companies. If they join hands with the government, more development works can be taken up," he said.

Explaining the details of the Rs 200-crore fund, BMRCL general manager, finance, U A Vasanth Rao said a sum of Rs 100 crore was given towards the cost of the station and also to be part of the fund for Reach 5.

"Apart from this, they will spend additional sums for the exterior and interiors of the station in the state-of-the-art roof structure. They also plan to tap solar energy. Besides factoring maintenance costs for 30 years, the additional works may cost them another Rs 75-100 crore," he said.

BMRCL releases video clip to woo corporates On a day the Infosys Foundation signed an MoU to fund the metro station, BMRCL released a video clip to attract more corporate companies to participate in the investment financing model. The video promotes the benefits that corporates would get by investing in metro projects. Terming 'Innovative Financing' a win-win situation for the government and private players, it stated how corporates can avail several benefits. This includes co-branding and direct connectivity to their work spaces or properties. The BMRCL believes this would also help companies boost their employee morale, have lower attrition and attract better talent. Intel, Biocon and Embassy have already expressed interest in undertaking such investments.