Maha-Metro proposes to extend Metro till Shivaji Memorial if it is shifted to Chandani chowk

To sort out the controversy over the Kothrud depot land, Maha-Metro has come up with a new plan and has requested the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to shift the

To sort out the controversy over the Kothrud depot land, Maha-Metro has come up with a new plan and has requested the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to shift the proposed Shivaji Maharaj Memorial to Chandani chowk. To avoid any further flare-up, Maha-Metro has proposed to extend the metro till Chandani chowk to connect the memorial to the rest of the city.

There was much controversy regarding the Metro corridor at Kothrud as both the Shivaji Maharaj Memorial and Metro car shed were planned at same plot located at Kothrud garbage depot. Even political parties were playing politics over the sensitive issue. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

There was much controversy regarding the Metro corridor at Kothrud as both the Shivaji Maharaj Memorial and Metro car shed were planned at same plot located at Kothrud garbage depot. Even political parties were playing politics over the sensitive issue.

The PMC had initially reserved the Kothrud depot land for the construction of the Shivaji Maharaj memorial but Maha-Metro demanded the whole piece of land for its operation and maintenance purposes. To avoid the controversy, two to three meetings had been called at the state level recently and a committee was also formed to sort out the sensitive issue.

Sources from Maha-Metro said that it has now come up with a new plan and is now interested in extending the Vanaz to Ramwadi corridor till Chandani chowk. Around 65 acres of land which was reserved for the bio diversity park is available at Chandani chowk and can be utilised for the Shivaji Maharaj Memorial, Maha-Metro officials pointed out.

The architect, Nitin Desai, who was appointed by the PMC for designing the Shivaji Maharaj memorial has given a positive response to the proposal, said sources.

Now, the PMC will have to take a call on the proposal. If the elected members agree to this proposal, it would be win-win situation as the memorial will get a larger piece of land and citizens would get metro connectivity up to Chandani chowk.

HCC to construct 8 Metro stations

Maha-Metro has appointed the Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) for the construction of eight metro stations in between Vanaz to Shivajinagar warehouse. The tender floated for the same was worth Rs 500 crore. The Maha-Metro has split the metro work and appointed different agencies for metro stations in the Pimpri Chinchwad and Ranje Hills corridor. It will help in completing the corridor and station work simultaneously. Maha-Metro’s officer Gautum Birade confirmed that the station work has been allotted to HCC on Thursday.