The mega daunting elevated metro rail stations that are coming up across the city and suburbs of Mumbai are certainly blocking natural sunlight. At times even during evening hours, the road below this elevated Metro station and its surrounding area becomes dark and dull. However, for the first time, a new form of street lighting has been installed underneath the buffed up Metro stations on the two new lines of Metro-2A and Metro-7.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has installed these yellow coloured LED lights facing downwards onto the roads below. This was much required as the large Metro stations were constructed to cover the entire breadth of the road shadowing it completely. According to sources, these LED lights have been installed in two columns on the entire length of the station on both sides of the road.
"These have been installed on Metro-2A stations falling on the Link Road that covers the entire width of the road. On the sides, there are buildings and slums which leaves little scope for installing street lights on the road,” explained an official from MMRDA.
The height of these enormous structures leaves little room for constructing a regular 9-meter long street light on these stretches. “There was a need for street lights at stretches where these elevated Metro station premises are constructed. It had become risky to walk at night as street lights too weren’t present at the time of construction of these stations. Moreover, it will be better for motorists as well are manoeuvring on road, on which repair works are still on,” said Harshal Gupta, a local resident of Borivali.
The MMRDA has still left many portions of the road unattended, either riddled with potholes or badly paved or debris lying on the road with poor barricading done. Initially, the MMRDA had fitted these LED street lamps in the bottom portion of one or two of their stations. However, these are slowly being fitted at most of the locations along the Metro-2A and Metro-7 lines.
Earlier last week, the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety commenced statutory inspection of these two metro rail corridors of Metro-2A and 7 on Dhanukarwadi to Aarey stations. In all probability, the 20-km stretch spanning 18 stations is expected to achieve a commercial run from March this year if all permissions come in.
