After delays, ₹500 cr budget boost to propel Old City Metro

Hyderabad : After several years of delays, the Old City metro works will now commence, as additional Rs 500 crore have been allocated in the state budget for extending Hyderabad Metro Rail services to Hyderabad's Old City. This has brought cheers to the residents of the densely populated area and raised hopes that the Metro Rail works would be carried out.

The foundation stone for the Metro Rail in Old City was laid by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy in March, after the Congress government came into power.

Metro services started in Hyderabad in 2017 but the Old City metro rail works were stopped at Mahatma Gandhi Bus Stand.

The metro rail to Old City was a major demand from 2022 after the densely populated Old City people saw the benefit of the connection from LB Nagar to Miyapur and Parade Ground to the MGBS. The movement was faster, but Old City was left out which led to major discontent.

According to the residents, political parties just indulged in rhetoric when promising to provide metro services in Old City. Each time during elections, the then government led by K Chandrashekar Rao announced to take up metro works and other development works, but it was sidelined.

“The government is aiming to achieve the top position in the country by providing better infrastructure in all aspects and also expanding the Metro of 78 kms. The Old City citizens hoped that now Metro services should begin in the Old City to bridge the development gap,” said Murtuza Mohsin, a software engineer and resident of Falaknuma.

Venkanna, a resident of Shalibanda said, “The metro service is much-needed here, as it is densely populated which also alleviates traffic congestion. With metro services, residents would benefit from better connectivity and the movement would be faster.”

Another resident, Asif Hussain Sohail said, “For the last three years, the same budget has been allocated, now the present government must take up metro services as the Chief Minister termed the Old City as ‘Original Hyderabad’ and promised to develop it on par with the new city,” he added.

He said, “The major role in the project lies on the GHMC, as they should be proactive and keenly involved in property acquisition. They must not delay in payments of land acquisition, and make sure that the owners are convinced.”

According to HMRL, the 5.5 km stretch is part of Corridor II of the Green Line from JBS to Falaknuma. In the project, approximately 1,100 properties will be affected by road widening at the metro rail station locations. The project is expected to cost about Rs 2,000 crore, including road widening and utility shifting.

As per the detailed project report, the Metro will pass through Darulshifa – Purani Haveli – Etebar Chowk – Alijakotla – Mir Momin Daira – Haribowli – Shalibanda – Shamsheergunj – Aliabad and ends at Falaknuma. There would be four stations namely Salarjung Museum, Charminar, Shalibanda and Falaknuma.