When Rathin Jadeja shifted base from Mumbai to Bangalore, he didn’t know what he was e getting into. His dream soon came crashing down. Four hours on the road everyday for office was killing him. The traffic snarls was getting to his nerves. He was frantically looking out for a change, with a change in the city. “I love Bangalore. I love the weather, the young crowd and the options for entertainment. But the traffic destroys all the positives of the city.

The quality of life takes a hit in spite of all positives, when your journey to work and back takes half your lifetime. I was constantly cribbing about the infrastructure here. Mumbai isn’t great either in terms of transport but the rail is a huge respite for regular travellers. There is some mode of public transport. Here the dependence on car is huge, because that is the only way to travel.”

He adds, “ The roads are the only way people travel here, hence the immense pressure n jam. I am very happy that the Green Line Phase ! has become operational. I was there when the President came for inauguration. I save so much of my time now. I have dropped my plans of relocating.” South Bangalore has it’s own charm. And now the opening up of the metro has added to its charm. “i live in JP Nagar, and there couldn’t be a better residential colony than this. This has been voted the most green in the city. But it lacked connectivity. Travelling to north or near central was a huge problem. But for the metro it has literally become a joy ride,” says V. Savitha, an IT consultant.

Priti Roy,a resident of Bannerghatta is joyous about the new opening. “Though I have to travel a fair bit to access the metro, I am still very delighted. We have a wedding in the family, for which I was planning a trip to Chikpet.

Now it will be way more easier.” Her excitement know no bounds,she adds, “Few places in the city weren’t accessible to most people. It is hard to find parking in Chikpet. Now people will throng these areas,because you can just hop in and hop out. Even places like Jayanagar and JP Nagar will see more shoppers coming from different areas. I am waiting for the Bannerghatta line to get completed now. Life becomes so much easier with good public transport.”

Ruksana Ahmed,a beautician who specialises in home service calls this the best gift. “I offer home service and that takes me to many places. Earlier I would restrict myself to a few areas close to my home, because travelling in OLA would cost a lot and consume much of my time. But now, I am open to many more areas in the city.” She is a happy resident of the city now, balancing work and home simultaneously. “I thank the metro for allowing me the time to balance both. Now we need to get connected with the airport.”