Hyderabad: Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMRL) has modified the alignment of the 5.5-km corridor II of the Metro rail in order to minimise the number of religious and heritage structures in Old City that will be affected by its construction.
As per the originally-proposed route for the Metro rail from Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station to Falaknuma, 103 heritage and religious structures, including 12 temples, 21 masjids, 12 ashoorkhanas, 33 dargas, seven graveyards, and six chillas, would have been affected.
Leaders of the (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) had objected to the proposal and had demanded an alternative route that would affect fewer structures. To get the Metro rail project approved in the Old City there were hectic back-end consultations, meetings with MIM legislators and visits to the field to measure the land and to work out modifications with the engineering.
It took a full four years for the Hyderabad Metro Rail to come out with a clear picture of the land area, design and properties that they would have to acquire in the Old City.
The new route proposed by HMRL will pass through Darulshifa, Alija Kotla, Mir Momin Daira, Akkanna Madanna Temple, Shalibanda, Aliabad, and Shamshergunj; and only four structures will be affected by it. None of the other structures will now have to be demolished.
HMRL said that if the road along the Metro rail route was widened to 100 feet, nearly 1,100 properties would be affected, and if it was widened to 80 feet, 700 properties would be affected.
