Metro rail works on the fast track

A train of the Hyderabad Metro Rail leaving the Habsiguda station during a test run on the Uppal-Habsiguda stretch in Hyderabad on Wednesday night. Photo: Nagara Gopal

In spite of charges and counter-charges and leaks apart, the Metro Rail project construction has actually picked up pace if one looks at the number of piers and viaducts coming up in the last couple of months. Incidentally, the works seem to have relatively quickened after it had reached core city from the suburbs.

Going by the progress report presented to the project monitoring group (PMG) of the Prime Minister’s Office by the Telangana government recently, about 175 foundations, 138 piers (pillars) and 158 spans have been constructed in the last two-and-half months alone.

If the spans construction in the last quarter was 49 per month, it has gone up to 65 in recent times. Similar is the case with casting of the viaducts, it has almost doubled. If on an average 365 segments per month were being made, now it has gone up to 744 segments a month.

Even for the stations superstructure, 402 segments are being built per month, a tad bit more when compared to the 357 segments built a month earlier, explain senior Metro Rail officials.

These were the figures shown to the Union Government’s Additional Secretary, Anil Swarup, earlier this month by the State government officials to buttress their claims that “full and complete cooperation” is being extended to the project.

However, these works pertain mostly to the two corridors - L.B. Nagar to Miyapur and Nagole to Shilparamam/Raidurg. With regard to corridor two, metro rail officials point out that works are on at Musheerabad, old Gandhi Hospital land and also at Narayanaguda.

However, the contentious issues of the probable alignment change at Sultan Bazaar and also in front of the Legislative Assembly building remain the same.

Along with this, the ruling party ally, Majlis has put across the demand to change the alignment from Mahatma Gandhi Bus Terminal at Gowliguda towards Falaknuma avoiding the confirmed alignment and taking alongside the River Musi instead. “The government has to take a call on these issues,” said senior officials, not willing to be quoted.