'Life will be faster, easier'

After direct Metro connectivity is established between Gurgaon and Connaught Place, the travel time between the national capital and the satellite town would come down to 45 minutes as against nearly two hours at present. Sanjeev K Ahuja reports.

After direct Metro connectivity is established between Gurgaon and Connaught Place, the travel time between the national capital and the satellite town would come down to 45 minutes as against nearly two hours at present.

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The 14.47-km HUDA City Centre-Qutub Minar line did not evoke much passenger response as it recorded low commuter turnout of about 40,000 a day.

But with the extension, Metro authorities hope a major jump in the footfall on Monday, despite limited parking facilities and inadequate feeder buses to Metro stations.

The HUDA City Centre-Qutub Minar stretch was opened on June 21 with nine operational stations.

Many private companies, who used to run cab service to ferry their employees from Delhi and back, have decided to do away with the facility as the Metro would be a better option.

Instead, they are planning to run cabs to Metro stations for the benefit of their employees.

"We have about 250 employees in our Sector 32 office and majority of them come from Delhi using cabs," said an executive of a multinational company.

Equally upbeat are the students who use buses to reach their colleges in Delhi.

"I began using the Metro in June. But it was very inconvenient for me to get down at Qutub Minar Metro Station and take a bus to Kamla Nehru College. So I switched back to bus. Now, with direct Metro connectivity, it would be very easy," said Kanchan Gupta.

(With inputs from Faizan Haider and Eshani Mathur)