The Hindu : Front Page : New line proposed to put Nehru Stadium on Delhi Metro railway map

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 06, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

New line proposed to put Nehru Stadium on Delhi Metro railway map

Staff Reporter

Part of grand plans for Commonwealth Games-2010, it would run from Patel Chowk to Badarpur

NOW ON METRO MAP? : The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, which will be the hub of much activity during the upcoming Commonwealth Games. PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

NEW DELHI: The good old Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which will be the hub of much activity during the upcoming Commonwealth Games-2010 here in Delhi, looks poised to get Metro rail connectivity. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has proposed to the Delhi Government a brand new line from Patel Chowk on Parliament Street to Badarpur on the Delhi-Faridabad border.

This 18.2-km line would be underground for the first 5.2 km and run under the bustling Khan Market and Central Government Offices Complex near Nehru Stadium. Thereafter it would be elevated and travel all the way to Badarpur on piers. The proposal was made by DMRC Managing Director E. Sreedharan following a presentation before Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Earlier, a link had been proposed to Faridabad through Okhla and the line was to be an extension of the proposed line to be constructed under Phase III of Delhi Metro from Jahangirpuri to Okhla Phase-I via Rajouri Garden and AIIMS. The new proposal instead has come because of two important reasons. First, the 15-km corridor from Okhla to Faridabad -- for which preparation of a detailed project report had also been undertaken in September 2005 -- was found to be overlapping with the High Capacity Bus System. The Delhi Government objected to this linkage on the ground that the two public transport systems would start competing with each other.

The second reason was that a need was felt to bring Nehru Stadium on the Metro railway map. Since the stadium would be the venue for athletics and the all-important opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games, all the planners generally were of the view that it should also be linked to the Metro system.

To make Delhi a "World Class City'' ahead of the Games, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has already made efforts to get a Metro link to Delhi airport from the heart of the city. Likewise, the Commonwealth Games Village on the banks of the Yamuna near Akshardham Temple has been provided connectivity to the Indraprastha-New Ashok Nagar-Noida Sector 32 Line III on which work has already started.

By providing direct connectivity to the city centre from Faridabad, the Metro line would also breathe fresh life into the industrial township south of Delhi that had thus far been lagging behind due to poor connectivity from the Capital.

DMRC has also proposed another 10.4-km line from Adarsh Nagar to Rajouri Garden. It would pass through Shalimar Bagh, Netaji Subhas Place, Britannia Chowk, Punjabi Bagh, Karampura, Basai Darapur and Raja Garden. This line almost follows the path of the one from Azadpur to Rajouri Garden that had been planned under the Delhi Master Plan-2021. Partly underground, this line would allow people travelling on the Shahdara-Rithala Line I the Jahangirpuri-Central Secretariat Line II and the Barakhamba-Dwarka Sub City Line III to switch over as Netaji Subhas Place would be on Line I, Adarsh Nagar on Line II and Rajouri Garden on Line III.

DMRC has also made it clear that due to objections from the Archaeological Survey of India it is altering the route of the Central Secretariat-Andheria More line at a cost of Rs. 436 crores. Asked how the line would travel beyond IIT, Mr. Sreedharan said whether it goes via Malviya Nagar and Saket would be determined by a survey. In any case, it would touch Andheria More and serve Mehrauli and its neighbourhood.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News Update

Stories in this Section