Why not take metro III up to Andheri, ask activists

With the new MMRDA metropolitan commissioner deciding to go back to the drawing room for the third line of metro running between Colaba and Bandra, activists vouching for an underground metro have found a new ray of hope.

Now they have come up with their own plan, which they explained to the chief minister in the recently held meeting.

According to architect and activist Nitin Killawala, the plan suggests that the authority should avoid duplicating two lines on the same route.

“We know that the MMRDA is contemplating an entire underground metro from Colaba and Bandra and extending it right up to the airport. What we suggested is that if there is one underground line going from Bandra to the airport (which is not very far off from Andheri), why do we need a duplicate elevated line running from Bandra up to Andheri? In short, the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd (CBM) line can be curtailed at Andheri,” explained Killawala.

The architect further added that instead of making Bandra the metro hub, the authority can think of making Andheri into a similar junction point. He also stressed that the Charkop-Andheri route should be retained as it is.

“If you see the original plan, it had suggested a Charkop-Mahim-Colaba route instead of the present Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd (CBM) metro. When asked about the development, a senior MMRDA official said that none of the authority officials were so far intimidated about any changes in the metro master plan. “So far, we are proceeding as per the plan decided earlier,” said the official.