MCD to take charge of sanitation duties in Chandni Chowk

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Sunday started trial runs on a 2km-long stretch between Dwarka Sector 21 and the upcoming India International Convention Centre (IICC) Metro section (Dwarka Sector 25) on the Airport Express Line, in a bid to provide better connectivity to Dwarka, according to officials.

The upcoming IICC Metro section is an underground station and an extension of the presently operational Delhi Airport Metro Express, which connects the New Delhi railway station to Dwarka Sector 21 via Indira Gandhi International Airport’s (IGIA) Terminal 3. According to officials, following the extension, the New Delhi to Dwarka Sector 25 (IICC) Airport Express Line corridor will become 24.7kmlong.

The new Metro station will be the seventh one to come up along the Airport Metro

Express, with the previous six stations at New Delhi, Shivaji Stadium, Dhaula Kuan, Aerocity, IGIA Terminal 3, and Dwarka’s Sector 21.

“Signalling systems are tested during trial runs, following which, mandatory inspections by various authorities concerned including the commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) will be conducted. The section will be opened for passenger traffic after these mandatory

Airport Express Metro line

GURUGRAM approvals,” said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director (corporate communications), DMRC.

The Metro station is being built at a depth of nearly 17m from the surface, and will have five entry or exit points to be facilitated by 14 escalators and five lifts, along with staircases for smooth passenger movement.

“The new Metro station will also have full-height platform screen doors, just like the other six stations of the Airport Express Line,” Dayal said.

The station will also provide Metro connectivity to the residents of sectors 25 and 26 of Dwarka and the new sectors along the Dwarka Expressway in neighbouring Gurugram, according to DMRC official Dayal.

Residents of these areas will be able to reach central Delhi in just about half an hour after the new segment is opened to the public, according to DMRC officials.

Neighbouring areas such as Bharthal, Bamnoli and Pochanpur villages — where residents rely on shared and feeder services to commute — will also have a convenient commute with the opening of this extension, said officials.

The new Metro station will cater to the upcoming IICC — the largest exhibition-cum-conmorning

Easier access to convention centre

A Metro station inside the new state-of-the-art convention centre will make it easier for people from across the city to reach the centre.

Apart from just serving visitors of the centre, the Metro station will also immensely boost connectivity in the peripheral areas.

According to officials, the attendance at the convention centre, which promises facilities to host large-scale seminars, meetings and exhibitions, is also expected to boost the ridership of the Metro line.

The other Metro lines which provide connectivity to Dwarka are the Blue Line (Noida Electronic City / Vaishali — Dwarka Sector 21) and the Grey Line (Dhansa Bus Stand — Dwarka), said DMRC.

Senior officials of the rail corporation said that though the work for the ₹310-crore Metro project started in 2018 and was expected to be completed by last year, it got delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The rail corporation has been working round the clock to finish the project by mid2022, they added.

NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will again take up cleanliness and sanitation activities on the redeveloped Chandni Chowk stretch, after it was found that the public works department (PWD), which is the custodian of the stretch, is not doing a proper job of maintaining cleanliness in the area, a meeting of all stakeholders, called by the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), on June 21 has decided.

Plans are also afoot to reduce the number of rickshaws plying on the stretch, so as to decongest the area, and introduce an online fining system using CCTV cameras to penalise vehicles found entering the stretch between 9am and 9pm, an official aware of the developments has said.

The first phase of the ₹99-crore Chandni Chowk revamp project, aimed at decongesting and conserving the Shahjahan-era market between the Red Fort and Fatehpuri Masjid, was inaugurated on September 12 last year.

During a surprise inspection on June 10, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had found several faults with the maintenance and upkeep of the area and he had directed officials to submit a report on the state of the redeveloped Chandni Chowk market, while reminding them that it was important to ensure that the revamped stretch does not lose its sheen.

The meeting of stakeholders was called following this to discuss steps that needed to be taken to improve the upkeep of the area.

Sanjay Bhargava, who heads the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal, said traders have been requesting the MCD to restart the

Dwarka Sector 21

Aerocity

IGI Airport T3

Mahipalpur

sweeping and cleanliness activities as the newly renovated market was starting to lose its sheen.

“Deputy commissioner of the City Sadar Paharganj (City-sp) zone has been directed to ensure sweeping of the stretch and removal of garbage in the morning as it is the obligatory function of (the MCD) providing sanitation in the area although PWD is responsible for maintaining the area,” the directions issued by chief nodal officer H Rajesh Prasad, who is looking after revamped stretch, said.

The issue of unregistered rickshaws increasing congestion on the stretch was also raised during the meeting. “Currently, there are around 1,000 rickshaws plying in the area which will be brought down to 400. The order issued by the nodal officer on June 23 said the MCD along with traffic police will take action against the unregistered cycle rickshaws plying on the road,” Bhargava said.

During the inspection, Sisodia also found that the boom barriers were not working, twowheelers, despite curbs, were plying, a PWD official said, and added that the boom barriers as well as the feed from CCTV cameras will be handed over to traffic police for issuing online fines.

Sweeping and removal of garbage across the area in the morning will be ensured at the earliest. H RAJESH PRASAD, chief nodal officer in an official order