Suburban residents start online petition for underground Metro

Residents of Mumbai's suburbs have started an online petition asking for the Metro project in the suburbs to be constructed underground. The petition that has already gathered over 1,100 signatures will be given to the chief minister. Titled 'Metro must go underground in Mumbai suburbs too', it lists over 50 problems and mentions solutions, too, that are provided by the Juhu Vile Parle Development (JVPD) scheme.

According to the online petition, the prominent problems are cutting of trees on a large scale, narrow roads, higher density population, nuisance in areas of Juhu where there are a string of hospitals and educational institutions which will create noise pollution, congestion and disturb patients as well as students.

"I see the congestion created by the Metro work in the suburbs. It would have been a different thing if there was no other alternative but there is. Just as Metro construction is totally underground in south Mumbai, it could be underground in the suburbs, too. The objective of Metro is to mitigate congestion problems and not create them," said Alpana Killawala, one of the signatories to the petition.

The petitions also suggests construction of only 4.5 km underground between DN Nagar and Santacruz Bus depot and connect it to the ongoing underground Metro 3 which is merely 750 meters away from the domestic terminal on the western express highway.