From footpaths to pumping stations; from an entire police station to bus stops; from trees to sewage lines, water lines and gas lines — all this will be affected if the second metro from Charkop to Mankhurd via Bandra sticks to its elevated course planned by the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority’s [MMRDA].
A report prepared by Dr SL Dhingra of IIT-Bombay, exclusively available with DNA, says that 32 km sewer lines, 12.5 km water lines and 12 km gas lines will have to be re-laid. With these connections running underneath the over-congested arterial roads, relaying work will wreak havoc with traffic in the western suburbs. Add to this the
hurdles of shifting a pumping station in Andheri, Santa Cruz police station and a few projects of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) in Bandra. “Out of the 1,950 existing trees of several generations, 948 will have to be uprooted,” the report adds.
About 7,000 sq metre of footpaths in the city will make way for elevated stations, endangering pedestrians. “The three main arterial roads — Linking Road, SV Road and Link Road — will get strangulated forever. One must remember that these are the only roads connecting the western suburbs to the island city,” the report says.
It adds that an elevated metro station will reduce the motorable width of the road by more than over 30%. “This will deteriorate traffic and congestion on the roads. The alignment has been proposed on roads having four to six lanes. Currently, average vehicular speed on them is a mere 15 km per hour. Post-construction, the roads will be permanently reduced to two lanes and four lanes respectively, and vehicular speed would be no more than 10 km per hour. During construction, barricading of roads will slow down traffic.”
Talking about bus stops, the report comes down heavily on the way bus services will be affected. “There is no clue whatsoever about bus routes and bus stops. Within a stretch between Andheri and Bandra alone, about 60 bus stops will be displaced.” So, bus services will be absolutely chaotic along the route during construction, and is unlikely to improve after the construction of the elevated metro, it says.
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