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DNA EXCLUSIVE: Flooding may affect underground Metro

The MMRDA made this claim while justifying its decision to build the DN Nagar-Mandale Metro-2B as an elevated corridor instead of an underground one

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After claiming that underground Metro corridors are more prone to terrorist attacks, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has now claimed that the underground Metro is more likely to get affected during heavy flooding in the city, as compared to the elevated Metro corridors.

The MMRDA made this claim while justifying its decision to build the DN Nagar-Mandale Metro-2B as an elevated corridor instead of an underground one. However, this has given rise to another debate as the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) executing the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 underground Metro has claimed Metro-3 to be a water-tight project, where seepage or clogging of water is impossible.

In a letter written to the Guzdar Scheme Residents' Trust in Khar, who have objected Metro-2B being constructed as an elevated corridor, MMRDA, said, "It should be noted that in the case of heavy rains when the city's roads get flooded, all at grade systems and underground systems get severely affected. During the heavy flooding in Mumbai a few days back, it was only the elevated metro and monorail which continued functioning without any interruption. Underground metro, in such heavy floods, would be likely to get affected despite all necessary precautions."

However, the MMRC has earlier claimed that the Metro-3 corridor runs at least 25 meters below the surface and is a water-tight project where seepage or clogging of water is impossible.

"The underground Metro-3 system is embedded in the ground at a substantial depth. To protect against flooding, the level of all station entrances or shafts will remain sufficiently above the recorded high flood levels of respective areas along with good margins. Our tunnels are also water-tight," MMRC had said earlier.

Prior to this, MMRDA had also claimed that the underground metro stations are more prone to terrorist attacks than the elevated ones. MMRDA also claims that during the construction of underground Metro, there will be more traffic disruptions.

Meanwhile, a bunch of residents from Juhu, Vile Parle, Santacruz and Khar have also filed a petition in the Bombay High court citing that the Metro-2B should be made an underground Metro instead of an elevated one, reasoning that the elevated Metro corridor over the major arterial SV Road will lead to traffic congestion and the elevated Metro corridor would also close all doors for the future expansion of Metro. However, the MMRDA has been saying that making Metro-2B as an underground corridor is not feasible.

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