METRO-MORPHOSIS HAS CITY FLYING
With 30 km of Metro Rail poised to have its inaugural run on Tuesday, the city too is set to welcome a new addition to its skyline. The elevated Metro Rail that had been in the making for a little over five years will now become a reality.
Construction for the Metrol Rail started on April 26, 2012, after the Bhoomi Puja. The project that had been featured in the top 100 strategic global infrastructure projects at the Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum held in New York during February-March 2013, is being completed phasewise. The Metro Rail will ease the traffic in the city to a great extent. Authorities are happy that the people of Hyderabad co-operated without too much fuss to see the project on its feet and running.
The former managing director of Hyderabad Metro Rail Mr V. B. Gadgil was often found saying that not a single person from the city had complained about the work and this showed the spirit of the city. Despite the blockages, round-about turns, one-way roads, debris, sand, construction material and also the innumerable workers who were seen day and night manning the construction work, people of the city remained largely supportive except for the odd outburst when traffic jams on certain roads became particularly nasty. Their belief that the new mode of transport would eventually help in decongesting the city went a long way in making the building process of the Metrol Rail, a smooth one.
The complete 72 kilometres will be completed in 2018 and the experience that the Metro Rail officials will gain from the 30 kilometre stretch will help them understand the travel pattern, preferences and also the requirements of the people of the city. The first set of people who will opt for Metro Rail would be office goers who travel regularly in buses, MMTS, auto rickshaws, private cabs and bikes. A larger crowd is expected once the parking facilities, cycling facility on the roads and other amenities develop.
While the development of the Metro Rail attracted a lot of curiosity, the method of development had been kept a closely guarded secret. The land acquisition process, the building of the Metro pillars in the middle of the road and the staircase coming down on the roads, were all features of the project that had been widely discussed but little was known about the fine print.
A senior officer explained, “The planning was based on acquiring the land and then constructing the metro but the changes in the Land Acquisition Act increased the costs tremendously. Those who were losing their land or property opted for court battles which caused a considerable delay in the construction work. The right of way permission to L&T Metro Rail was delayed due to this reason and only pillars could be seen in the middle of the road.” While the pillar works were carried out on the roads, the viaduct and other concrete material for the stations were prepared in the yard at Uppal and installed.
A major debate began during the bifurcation of the united state of Andhra Pradesh, as there was a lot of scepticism about whether the project will be continued by the Telangana state. A senior official of Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited explained, “The separation of the state didn’t stop the work but allowed it to go on in full swing which has made way for the completion of the project. When the work could be seen on the road in terms of more pillars, laying of viaducts and at last the stations, there was confidence that the project is on track.”
While both HMRL and concessionaire L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited had their own communication channels with the government regarding the starting of the project and completing it in phases, (like Nagole to Mettuguda—8 kilometres and Miaypur to SR Nagar—12 kilometres) it didn’t happen as the government wanted to have a longer and fuller stretch which would bring upfront the real benefit to the people.