The metro rail clock is ticking and the scheduled opening of the end-to-end stretch of 30 km from Nagole to Miyapur via Ameerpet by month-end is looming large. Even as the metro rail authorities – the Hyderabad Metro Rail and L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad – are racing against time to complete the overhead and street-level facilities, key issues are shrouded in secrecy.
It is clear that the metro rail authorities cannot complete all the work by November 15 as was announced and these include trial runs between Begumpet-Ameerpet-S.R. Nagar, while the safety clearance is yet to be obtained from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) as there has been no public notification.
The HMR, which has been assuring of ‘transforming’ the street-level work such as signages, bus bays, pedestrian amenities, street furniture, table drains, parking, barricades, etc., all through the inaugural route from Nagole to Miyapur, has now scaled down to work in small stretches below the stations owing to paucity of time and execution constraints.
“Suddenly, everyone is on board as the deadline is nearing,” confess senior officials, declining to be identified. There is no information forthcoming either from the government or the metro rail authorities on the mode of transport to be made available for passengers to and fro the stations or the first and last mile connectivity.
Will it be electric auto-rickshaws? Private mini-buses or the TSRTC? Or, is it going to be Ola/Uber vehicles? “There will be vehicles and also bicycles available in some of the 24 stations on the inaugural stretch. It will take some time to sew things up,” they say.
There is no word on the probable fare structure. Will it be ₹8 - ₹45 bandwidth from minimum to maximum as notified six years ago or will there be a hike? “No decision has been taken on this issue yet,” is the general refrain.
The Ameerpet interchange station may not be complete in all respects though trains can pass through the station. “We may not have a station halt, but passengers can get down at S.R. Nagar,” says an official.
The million dollar question is whether the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, will inaugurate the project at Miyapur on November 28. “He, for sure, is coming for the Global Investors Summit and has a five-and-half-hours schedule in the city, but we are yet to receive a final confirmation,” say top officials.
