Tejasvi Surya raises concern over Namma Metro fare hike, alleges ₹150 crore calculation error
Bengaluru: Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya has questioned the recent Namma Metro fare hike, alleging that commuters may have been overcharged by nearly ₹150 crore due to a calculation error by the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
Speaking at a review meeting on Tuesday, Surya said BMRCL used incorrect base year data while submitting expenditure figures to the Fare Fixation Committee. According to a report by Hindustan Times, he claimed that the corporation relied on financial data from 2016–17 instead of 2017–18, leading to inflated operational and maintenance cost estimates.
“This incorrect computation has resulted in an unjustified increase in fares,” Surya said, urging officials to rectify the error and issue a clarification at the earliest.
The MP also compared Bengaluru’s metro fares with other major cities, noting that a 20–25 km ride in Bengaluru costs ₹80, while a 32 km journey in Delhi costs ₹64. Similarly, Mumbai’s 12–18 km route costs ₹30, whereas Bengaluru commuters pay ₹60 for 10–15 km. He pointed out that while Mumbai’s maximum fare is ₹70, Bengaluru charges ₹90 for distances beyond 25 km.
“Metro fares in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Nagpur are 25–50 per cent lower than Bengaluru’s,” Surya said, adding that although the overall fare revision was announced as 51.5 per cent, the most commonly used distance slabs (8–15 km) have witnessed hikes of nearly 70 per cent, burdening daily commuters.
BMRCL officials, according to reports, have assured that a formal clarification will be issued soon.
“Public transport must remain affordable and accountable. Such lapses erode public confidence in urban mobility systems like Namma Metro,” Surya said.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
