Hyderabad: Progressing with the long-awaited construction of the metro rail corridor in the densely populated areas of Hyderabad’s old city, the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited has commenced a drone survey for the proposed rail alignment between Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station at Imlibun and Falaknuma, spanning a distance of 5.5 km. This initiative, which began in July at the directive of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, involves identifying about 1000 properties for acquisition and avoiding 103 religious or sensitive structures along the route.
HMRL’s managing director, N V S Reddy, mentioned that the drone survey supplements the conventional survey by providing precise measurements of affected properties needed for road expansion in the narrow stretch between Darul-Shifa junction and Shalibanda junction, as well as for the construction of metro stations. This approach also aids in devising engineering solutions to safeguard the identified religious and sensitive structures, including mosques, temples, ashoor khanas, dargahs, graveyards, and chillahs. The positioning of pillars, stations, and metro viaducts will be strategically planned to prevent any negative impact on these structures.
The article also notes that Phase-1 of the Hyderabad Metro Rail, which encompasses a 5.5 km stretch within the old city, was left unfinished while the remainder of the 67 km was completed and operationalized years earlier. The initial plan for the corridor was to extend from Jubilee Bus Station in Secunderabad to Falaknuma, but it was halted at MG Bus Station due to factors like the presence of religious and heritage structures, necessitating changes in route alignment.
Reddy explained that the drone survey enables swift collection of real-time data, high-resolution imaging, 3D modeling, integration of GIS data and CAD software, and data analysis for visualization purposes. In parallel, tenders are being finalized for ground capacity investigations, starting from Falaknuma, the proposed last metro station. The corridor is set to feature four additional stations: Salarjung Museum, Charminar, Shalibanda, and Falaknuma.
The completion of the corridor’s construction till Falaknuma is anticipated to boost ridership, connecting the old city to the broader Hyderabad region. Presently, around 600,000 passengers utilize the HMRL on a daily basis, with the JBS-MGBS corridor having the lowest ridership.
