Underground line ruled out

Residents and shopkeepers along Linking Road have raised objections to the elevated corridor of the Charkop-Mankhurd metro project.

 The Khar (West) Advanced Locality Management has written to societies across Bandra, Khar and Santacruz to highlight why an underground line would be more beneficial.

“Seventy-three buildings signed the letter, which was sent to MMRDA. The authority lacks transparency. Three individuals who filed RTI queries were given three locations of a metro station,” Aftab Siddique, ALM chairperson told DNA.

The Linking Road Shopkeepers’ Association also wrote to MMRDA. “Unfortunately, shop-owners at Linking Road are unaware of what lies ahead. If the congested road gets an elevated Metro, our business may suffer severely,” said association president Hari Mehra.

Ranjana Barve, another active resident from Bandra-Khar, criticised the authority as it “did not bother to ask residents before announcing a Metro in our area”. “We have demanded that the Metro must not disturb our livelihood and must be underground,” Barve said. MMRDA, however, ruled out the Metro going underground. Spokesperson Dilip Kawathkar told DNA the decision to construct the elevated line was taken after a
techno-economic feasibility study.