BMRCL's response came to a TNM article on the protest at the church that has been going on for 300 days.
The BMRCL (Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited) has responded to accusations made by the members of the All Saints Church, and said that the metro alignment in Hosur road is 36m away from All Saints Church building and does not pass below the church building. According to the Metro, only an open area of 1140 sqm with few trees in front of the church building is required for construction of the underground metro station. BMRCL's response came to a TNM article on the protest at the church that has been going on for 300 days. Though BMRCL intended to answer all the anxieties of the church members through the press statement, members say that they are hardly convinced. Church members said that the Metro had illegally changed the original detailed project report (DPR) which outlines the plan of the metro. In the DPR, they changed the alignment of Vellara junction stop of the Metro phase 2, and this led to a large portion of the church property and its premises getting affected. "Width of church premises along Hosur road is around 90m whereas width of land required for metro construction is only 38m, thereby leaving sufficient width along the Hosur road. Thus main approach to the church from Hosur road remains intact even during metro construction", the BMRCL statement further says. The metro authorities also tried to reassure the Church members that the 150-year-old building structure is under no threat. “There will not be any damage to church structure by metro construction activities. All the necessary precautions to protect the church building will be taken by BMRCL. We have successfully carried out such similar construction works for underground stations in phase-1. One of such works was that of Cubbon park underground station constructed at a distance of just 3m from more than 100 years old CTO (BSNL’s Chief Telecom Office) building, without causing any damage.” However, the church members say that they still fear that the heritage building will be threatened by the metro activities, including drilling. In a statement, the church members said, "The construction activity will necessitate excavation upto a depth of 80 feet. In the process, if it encounters hard rock, it will have to be blasted, thereby endangering the church. The BMRCL has not taken up any tests to ascertain the structural strength of the church by entrusting reputed engineers such as from Archaeological Survey of India." Ebenezer Premkumar, one of the members, told TNM, “The CTO building that BMRCL refers to is a granite structure, and cannot be compared to the heritage church building. The church is a limestone and masonry building, and would be adversely affected by the Metro construction activities,” he said. He further said that the church,“is the only one of its kind built in the Indo-Saracenic oeuvre in the year 1870 , it’s foundation is made of lime and mortar and in all probability will collapse because of the construction activity nearby.” The BMRCL in its statement also says that this was not the only religious place which is affected by the metro work. “Religious places are acquired for metro project, only when such acquisition is inevitable. For phase-2 works itself, 33 religious places have been acquired, which includes thirty temples, two churches and one mosque.” However, members of All Saints church said that according to the original DPR, the plan did not even touch the church, but instead was planned for the other side of the road. “The (original metro DPR) plan was supposed to affect the Shia Mosque located next to the Johnson Market, but that changed to affect All Saints Church instead. We believe that the plan was changed due to the use of political influence, so as to not affect the mosque, but crossed the road and to build it here instead,” Ebenezer said. However, the despite the claim, Metro declined to provide any documentation on the specifics of the above religious places which are set to be affected by Metro construction. The press release from the Metro further stated that “Open area required for metro construction is small comparing to total area of the church premises. Area required is only vacant land that too on a temporary basis for a period of around 3 years. Number of trees to be cleared for Metro construction in area required on temporary basis is only 26. Even some of the trees can be transplanted within the church premises itself.”
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