Hyderabad: The long-awaited dream of the people of the Old City will fructify on Friday when Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy will lay the foundation stone for the Old City metro rail project.
Phase I Metro rail work stretching to 5.5 km from MGBS to Falaknuma of corridor II and Green Line JBS to Falaknuma did not go beyond the proposal stage. Taking due note of this, Reddy focussed his attention on the Old City metro and directed HMRL officials to take it up on a priority basis.
This will come as a major boon for the locals, who have been subject to heavy traffic suffocation and pollution caused by vehicles on the narrow lanes and by-lanes. Umpteen representations of their everyday ordeal fell on deaf ears, as the previous government never rose to the occasion.
The alignment and the stations are about 500 metres away from the monuments; two of the stations are named after Salarjung Museum and Charminar. Around 1100 properties will be affected in road widening up to 100 feet as per the master plan and 120 feet at the stations. The project is expected to cost about Rs 2,000 crore, overall.
N.V.S. Reddy, managing director of HMRL told the media on Monday that the alignment/trains will pass through Darulshifa, Puranihaveli, Etebarchowk, Alijakotla, Mir Momin Daira, Haribowli, Shalibanda, Shamsheergunj and Aliabad and culminates at Falaknuma, as per the original plan. There would be four stations-Salarjung Museum, Charminar, Shalibanda and Falaknuma.
Reddy said that engineering solutions are being worked out to ensure that no religious or heritage structure is affected either for road widening or construction purposes. The line will be extended by another 1.5 km from Falaknuma to Chandrayangutta, which will be developed as a major inter-change station on the newly planned Airport line of Nagole-LB Nagar-Chandrayangutta- Mailardevpally- P7 road-RGIA, he pointed out.
