The 102 acres of land in Kanjurmarg, demarcated for the Metro carshed, is back under the spotlight. Residents of Kanjurmarg and Bhandup have demanded that the proposed Kanjurmarg Metro carshed should be transformed into an integrated ‘Metro Hub’. A letter on the same was e-mailed to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s office on March 10. This comes at a time when the Bombay High Court has scheduled a final hearing on this issue on March 19.
Residents of Kanjur-Bhandup Clean ALM, in their e-mail sent to the Chief Minister’s Office, have also demanded the omission of Metro-6 Kanjurmarg station. ‘As per the original plan, the purpose of Metro 6's Kanjurmarg station is the interchange between Metro 4 and Metro 6. Presently, the imminent integrated Metro carshed at Kanjurmarg (East) will enable the interchange between Metro 4 and Metro 6 more smoothly. This makes the Metro 6 Kanjurmarg station redundant,’ states the letter, a copy of which is with the Free Press Journal.
“Rather than using it to simply construct a carshed, the land can be used as a hub for different Metro lines converging there. Also, other modes of public transport can be set up there,” said Shirish Daudkhane (Metro Team), Kanjur Bhandup Clean ALM.
The local residents claim that the Metro planning authorities here can take example of the Metro carsheds in Hong Kong and New York, where the carshed and transport hub coexists. From here, a bus terminus and auto rickshaw and taxi stands can also be set up.
Residents claim that the Kanjur metro station at Gandhi Nagar junction –which will come almost 7-8 storeys above ground and intersect Metro 6 and Metro 4– will not be needed. “If this happens, then the Kanjurmarg station at Gandhi Nagar junction can be eliminated. The road at this junction is already narrow because of the barricades. The Metro station pillar will add to the congestion,” said another resident and member of this ALM.
The letter mentions that ‘the station pillars have extra thickness compared to regular pillars and the station requires additional infrastructure right at the already narrow exit from Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) to Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg. This construction would obstruct vehicular movement and mix pedestrian/slow/motorised traffic due to the extremely narrow spacing and lack of alternative routes. Both JVLR and LBS Marg are arterial roads and thousands of commuters rely on this particular access lane every day’.
Meanwhile, activists have moved the High Court in support of the Mumbai metro carshed at Kanjurmarg. This is pertaining to the ownership of this carshed land over which the High Court will have its hearing on March 19.
