The Hindu : New Delhi News : Hooda seeks extension of Metro to Gurgaon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 17, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Hooda seeks extension of Metro to Gurgaon

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Work on Line III to Dwarka is nearing completion

NEW DELHI: With the Haryana Government evincing keen interest in having a direct Metro link to Gurgaon from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the possibility of the Metro reaching IGI Airport from Dwarka before going there directly from Connaught Place -- as had been sought by the Ministry of Civil Aviation -- now appears brighter.

According to sources, during a recent visit to Delhi, the Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had raised the demand of taking the Metro to Gurgaon from the IGI Airport. Since work on Line III to Dwarka is at an advanced stage of completion, he had demanded that this line be quickly extended up to the IGI Airport and then be taken to Gurgaon from there.

As the 22.9 km Barakhamba-Dwarka Morh section is due for inauguration in December end and the 6.5 km extension into Dwarka is expected to be completed by March 2006, Mr Hooda was of the view that as the IGI Airport is just 4.2 kilometres away from the point where the Metro is reaching, efforts should be made to expedite work on this section as well and then to take the Metro to Gurgaon from the airport.

Though the Detailed Project Report for the extension to IFFCO Chowk at Gurgaon from Mehrauli side is already complete, through this side the Metro would not be able to reach Gurgaon before 2010. However, from Dwarka and IGI Airport, the Metro can reach Gurgaon as early as 2008. A senior Delhi politician who interacted with Mr Hooda during his recent visit said the Haryana leader also discussed with the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, and the Manging Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, E. Sreedharan, the feasibility of taking the Metro line to Kundli just north of Delhi at the earliest.

"Since the line to Narela is already a part of the Master Plan for Delhi Mass Rapid Transit System 2021, it would only require construction of a few kilometres of tracks to take the corridor to Kundli,'' the politician said, adding that

Haryana Government would be pursuing both these linkages with great interest.

It is pertinent to note that the Haryana Government has of late been sending all the positive signals about the having Metro linkages from Delhi. It has sanctioned requisite funds for getting the DPRs prepared for a link from Nangloi in West Delhi to Bahadurgarh and from Okhla in South Delhi to Faridabad.

Also, unlike his predecessor, Om Prakash Chautala, who had almost ruled out the extension of Metro into Gurgaon from Mehrauli after the DPR was prepared and had categorically stated that Haryana was more keen on having Konkan Railway's Skybus on this section, Mr Hooda has once again reposed faith in DMRC for bringing Haryana on the Metro map.

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