Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation floated a Rs 2,550 crore tender for the 8.5 kilometre long underground metro corridor on Tuesday. The tender would be opened in April.
The corridor will pass through the heart of the city and start from near Treasure Island on MG Road and pass through High Court, Rajwada, Bada Ganpati, Ramchandra Nagar, BSF and on to the airport. The total length of the corridor would be 8.626 kilometer which will have twin tunnels and seven stations.
The underground stations would be built below Indore Railway Station, Rajwada, Bada Ganpati, Ramchandra Nagar, BSF and Kalani Nagar and at the airport.
This is the fifth big tender floated by MPMRCL for the metro project.
At present, the work of elevated corridor from Gandhi Nagar to Robot Square is going on at a fast pace.
When complete the total length of the first phase of the metro corridor would be around 32.32 km from Gandhi Nagar, Super Corridor, MR 10, from Vijay Nagar, Radisson to Robot Square and from there to the airport via Bengali Square, Palasia and MG Road.
The construction of tunnels would be done with the help of giant tunnel boring machines and about 16 tunnels will be constructed. The underground tunnel work will start from the High Court.
According to the conditions of the tender for the underground corridor, the work period has been fixed at 1456 days i.e. about 4 years and the cost of this corridor has been estimated at about Rs 2,550 crore.
However, the actual pricing will be known only once the tender is opened.
Traders, residents worry about impact on their lives
Even as the tender for the underground section of the metro was floated on Tuesday, opposition to the idea of the underground route has started growing especially among the people who live in the central part of the city and businessmen who have their establishments in this area. Many residents and businessmen are meeting lawyers and taking legal advice from them and are preparing to move the court against the underground route.
The people opposing the underground section opine that a large number of historical buildings would fall prey to the project and this would also destroy the old city. The other point of contention is that most of the buildings/houses in the area are quite old and not strong enough to withstand the vibrations caused by excavation to be done for the underground metro line. Especially the area from Krishnapura to Rajwada, Khajuri Bazar, Gorakund, Malharganj to Bada Ganpati is the most vulnerable. Traders of Kothari Market are also worried. While one metro station is proposed to be built in place of Rani Sarai, the other one is proposed to be built at Kothari Market. Traders are worried about whether this station will be built on the parking space or their shops will be sacrificed.
Fourth train stock in city
The fourth set of the rolling stock of Indore metro arrived in the city on Tuesday. This will be the Yellow Line Metro and will run on the super priority and priority corridor.
Metro At A GLANCE
Corridor: 32.3 kilometers
Elevated Metro: 22.7 kilometres
Underground Metro: 8.8 kilometers
Total expenditure: Rs 7,501 crore
Total Metro Stations: 28
Underground Station: 7
Elevated Stations: 21
Passengers: After completion, an estimated 7 lakh passengers will travel every day
