The Free Press Journal

Metro III work has residents turning in bed all night

- SWAPNIL MISHRA

The ongoing Metro Projects have become a nuisance yet again and are giving sleepless nights to the residents of South Bombay.

Residents have alleged that in the rush to complete the Metro works be- fore the monsoon sets in, the MMRCL is allegedly violating court orders and causing them much discomfort.

“The constructi­on work of Metro-3 undergroun­d corridor is being carried out at night by MMRCL despite a stay by the Bombay High Court, which has restrained MMRCL from car- rying out work between 10 pm and 6 am,” said one of the residents.

He added that the noisy constructi­on work in their area disturbs their sleep cycle at odd hours in the night. “Intolerabl­e metro 3 noise at this hour at Dinshaw Vacha Road at 2.20 am @MumbaiPoli­ce. This is against court orders,” a Churchgate resident tweeted.

He further added that the work only stops when they contact the Mumbai police and they reach the spot. “I got immediate response for my tweet from the Mumbai police and the work was stopped immediatel­y after they reached the spot,” added the resident.

The High Court, in August 2017, had directed MMRCL not to carry out any constructi­on or ancillary activities of the Metro-3 project at night for a period of two weeks after a resident complained of inconvenie­nce. However, the stay has been extended.

Shailesh Kumbharwad­a, a Churchgate resident, said he was awake till 2 am due to Metro work. “The court says constructi­on work cannot go on after 10 pm. My five-year-old daughter also woke up. This should not be tolerated,” added Kumbharwad­a.

He added that there are many senior citizens in the area who too get disturbed.

Sumaira Abdulali, environmen­talist and founder of the NGO Awaaz Foundation, said they have not measured the night decibel of the metro constructi­on work. “But it’s obvious that the residents are facing a problem at night time as the noise from shifting of stones and other work goes up to 90 decibels,” added Abdulali.

The MMRCL functionar­ies were unavailabl­e for comment.

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