Metro connectivity for Hyderabad’s Old City: Telangana CM KCR asks MAUD to speed up project

Originally part of the 72-km phase-1 metro, the corridor connecting MGBS-Imlibun to Falaknuma, a 5.5 km stretch on the green line, has not been taken up years after construction of the rest of the 67 km was completed and operations commenced. It was planned that the corridor would connect the Jubilee Bus Station in Secunderabad and Falaknuma but was stopped at MGBS-Imlibun for various reasons, ranging from property acquisition and demand for a change of route alignment.

The presence of religious and heritage structures on this stretch has also been a reason cited often for the delay.

Responding to KTR, Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) supremo Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted, “Welcome this announcement by @KTRBRS. The people of Hyderabad’s Old City have been waiting for public transport connectivity for a long time. This will definitely help people of Old City & also bring in more tourism.”

AIMIM has made repeated requests to the state government for the completion of the Old City stretch.

Newly-appointed Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy called KTR’s announcement an “election gimmick”. He said, “Yet another announcement by the BRS government that will see no action. And this is not the first time this decision was announced too!”

He added, “BJP has constantly exposed the incapacity of KCR Govt in completing the extension of the Hyderabad metro to the Old City as per the originally drafted agreement between the state and center. The re-announcement of the ‘decision’ is just an election gimmick that will see no action under pressure from its friend & ally – the MIM.”

The state government had allocated Rs 500 crore for the extension of metro connectivity to the Old City in the 2022-23 Budget. However, the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) has been silent about the stretch.

HMRL MD N V S Reddy last week said that the corporation has carried 40 crore passengers since the commencement of its operations on November 29, 2017. According to him, the ridership on July 3 touched 5.10 lakh which is 6.80 lakh passenger trips according to GoI calculations. While the 29-km red line (corridor-1) connecting Miyapur to LB Nagar saw a ridership of 2.6 lakh, and the 27-km blue line (corridor-3) connecting Nagole to Raidurg saw a ridership of 2.25 lakh, the 11-km green line (corridor-2) connecting JBS to MGBS saw a ridership of only 25,000 passengers on the day.

While the state government has started works on the Airport Express Metro connecting Raidurg and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad with a 31 km long corridor with its own funds, it has proposed Phase-2 of HMRL to connect BHEL to Lakdikapul, a 26 km route, and is awaiting a response from the Union Government.