Locals want CM to make Metro-6 underground

Residents of four societies in Powai have sought chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray’s intervention in the Metro-6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli) corridor. The

Residents of four societies in Powai have sought chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray’s intervention in the Metro-6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli) corridor. The residents on Monday submitted a letter seeking an appointment with the CM.

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Locals have been demanding an alternative underground corridor for Metro-6 instead of the route planned by the state. They say the proposed line would lead to more congestion on the already-congested Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR).

In the letter to the CM, the residents said their attempts to meet former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had been unsuccessful and added that “he (Fadnavis) and his team unabashedly went ahead with their plans” despite the “availability of a much better alternative”.

Sonali Mishra, resident of Powai, who has been running a campaign to demand an underground metro, said, “We submitted a letter to the chief minister’s office. We have also submitted letters to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). Since the CM took an inclusive approach in the Aarey car shed case, we hope he will look into this too.”

Metro-6 is a 14.5-km corridor starting from Swami Samarth Nagar in Lokhandwala to Vikhroli.

The alternative route, as suggested by the group, is a 6-km extension to the fully underground Metro-3 corridor (Colaba-Seepz). The suggested route starts from Marol Naka (underground) and reaches Vikhroli on the Eastern Express Highway via Saki Vihar Road.