High level team inspects Begumpet Metro station

Hyderabad, Nov 18 (INN): HMRL MD N.V.S. Reddy; GHMC Commissioner Dr. B. Janardhan Reddy and Hyderabad Collector Rahul Bojja as members of a high level team appointed by the government to make suggestions for the site constraints of Begumpet Metro station inspected the station premises today (Friday).

Unlike the other general Metro stations, Begumpet Metro station is wedged in a narrow area between the Begumpet flyover (ROB) on one side and private properties of Country Club and Nawab Bashir Yar Jung on the other side. Since the area available for building the Metro station is only about 2,400 sq.yds (1514 sq.yds of Country Club open land acquired at a cost of Rs. 21.32 Cr and 876 sq.yds of Nawab Bashir Yar Jung acquired at a cost of Rs.12.63 Cr by HMRL), a majority of the station facilities had to be squeezed into this area.

Normally, a Metro station has four entry/exits i.e., staircases, escalators and lifts on all the four sides of the station to facilitate easy movement and entry/exit of commuters in and out of Metro station. However, in view of the presence of a flyover and road on one side of the station, all the entry/exits of Begumpet Metro station needed to be accommodated in the limited space acquired from the two private properties and a government quarter near the station, which is adjacent to Lifestyle building. Thus, Begumpet station is designed as a partly three level 'special station' with provision of a mezzannine floor on both ends of the station below the concourse level.

Inspecting the premises and the station design prepared by L&TMRHL which provides the staircases, escalators and lifts on the private properties' side of the station from the ground level to mezzanine level and thereafter readjusting the facilities on all four corners from mezzanine floor onwards, the high level team appreciated the engineering solution and advised L&T engineers to leave enough ground space for future widening of Kundanbagh road to 100 feet and locate all Metro structures accordingly.

The high level team will make its recommendations to the Government regarding location of various other facilities and parking & circulation areas for Begumpet Metro station in the next few days. The team is also likely to recommend construction of skywalks on both ends of the station below the Metro viaduct with landings on to Begumpet railway station on one side and Greenlands Jn on the other to provide better connectivity with other modes of transport like railways, buses and other feeder services, apart from connecting the nearby educational institutions like Begumpet Public school, Geetanjali school, St.Francis Womens' college and other commercial complexes in the busy Begumpet area, stated NVS Reddy.

DCP (Traffic-I), Hyderabad LS Chauhan; Chief Engineer, HMRL Md Ziauddin and other senior officers and engineers of HMRL and L&TMRHL participated in the inspection.