DELHI (Metro Rail News): Due to difficulties with an approach road to the station, the launch of the Najafgarh-Dhansa Bus Stand expansion of the Delhi Metro’s Grey Line has been postponed for nearly two weeks, authorities said on Wednesday.
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were set to launch the extension line together with a stretch of the Pink Line at Trilokpuri on August 6.
The state of the approach road to the Dhansa Bus Stand Metro Station, according to sources in the Delhi transport department, was “not even accessible to the public,” let alone motorable.
Due to heavy rains on May 20, a major section of the road and a walkway near the station’s building site collapsed, leading municipal Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot to launch an investigation.
The next day, Gahlot examined the DMRC site at the Dhansa Stand Metro Station and Khaira Crossing, where the cave-in had happened.
According to sources citing Gahlot, a cave-in occurred in May 2020, and the DMRC had submitted several deadlines for completion of rehabilitation and reopening the road to regular traffic, but the “guaranteed timelines were never fulfilled.”
Meanwhile, when contacted, the DMRC stated that the inauguration of the Najafgarh–Dhansa Bus Stand Metro portion of the Grey Line has been “postponed for roughly two weeks” due to the “pending construction of a critical road giving access to the station from a part of the adjacent neighbourhoods.”
Due to building work on the reversing facility outside the Dhansa Bus Stand Station, a part of a crucial road link between Khaira Mor and Gopal Nagar had to be closed to heavy trucks. The road is currently being repaired and will be ready shortly, according to the DMRC, after tunnelling work in the reversal region was completed. This would provide easy access to the station from various interior locations beyond Najafgarh.
Following the completion of this ongoing work, the date for the inauguration of the Najafgarh–Dhansa Bus Stand portion will be announced. Meanwhile, as previously stated, the opening of the Trilokpuri portion of the Pink Line will take place on Friday, according to a DMRC spokeswoman.
The DMRC announced on Sunday that the Union minister for housing and urban affairs and the Delhi chief minister will launch the two sections through video conference.
The online inauguration will take place on August 6 in the morning, and passenger services will begin on the same day at 3 p.m. on both portions, according to the announcement.
However, due to the postponement of the Grey Line expansion, only the Pink Line portion will be available to the public.
The Najafgarh-Dhansa Bus Stand stretch, which is about one kilometre long (891 metres), will extend the metro farther into Najafgarh’s interior.
The people of the interior villages of Najafgarh, which is steeped in history, would greatly benefit from this expansion of the nearly 4.2-kilometer Grey Line (Dwarka-Najafgarh corridor).
In October 2019, the Dwarka-Najafgarh corridor opened, connecting the urban village region of Najafgarh to the rapid transit network for the first time.
The future Dhansa Bus Stand Station has been decorated with appealing artworks and pictures that depict the rich legacy, culture, flora, and biodiversity of this national capital neighbourhood.
The opening of the 289-meter Trilokpuri section between Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake stations will complete the 59-kilometre Pink Line and connect key city landmarks such as the Anand Vihar Railway Station, Anand Vihar ISBT, Nizamuddin Railway Station, markets in South Extension, INA, and Lajpat Nagar, according to officials.
The Pink Line, which runs from Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar, has 38 stops.