Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) will start the construction of the
Mahakaran station of the East-West Metro from Saturday night, Satish Kumar, its managing director said on Saturday.
Kumar said if things go as per planned, then Metro services from Sector V in Salt Lake to Phoolbagan will start by June 2018 and the entire stretch of the East-West Metro, that is from
Howrah Maidan to Sector V, will be functional by December 2020. The Centre has given its nod to extend East-West Metro to Haldiram on VIP Road and survey is on to extend the Western end to Santragachi.
The work area of Mahakaran station will be barricaded but there will be no major traffic diversions. The KMRCL had already paid Rs 10.95 crore for the loss of revenue to West Bengal Transport Corporation for
closure of tram services for three years. Kumar said once the constriction is completed, the tram services will be resumed.
He said that the work will not affect the movement of traffic. Before carrying out the work, KMRCL had meetings with senior officials of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and police.
Kumar said the tunneling below Brabourne Road Flyover in the proximity of some old buildings has been properly done.
The east-bound tunnel has successfully crossed below the
foundation of Brabourne Road Flyover. The traffic along the flyover was suspended for three days from July 8. Around 160
residents from three old and dilapidated buildings were put up in two hotels. They have been brought back to their homes.
Kumar said the construction of the underground tunnel did not affect the buildings at all and no cracks were detected. However, KMRCL was ready to bear the expenditure for any damage caused to the old structures.
The construction of Esplanade station has begun. The station is planned as the interchange between North-South, East-West and Joka BBD Bag lines. Such interchange of three Metro lines is extremely rare in India.
The surface bus and tram stations will be redesigned to turn the station into a major transport hub. There will be four levels in
Esplanade station compared to two levels in conventional stations.
The two additional levels shall be used for parking of passenger amenities.
Asked whether space in the station will be used commercially, Kumar said no decision in the matter has yet been taken.
Kumar said all the Metro stations will have toilets. The Esplanade and Mahakaran stations will have two entrances and exits. The estimated time for their construction will be around three years. Kumar thanked the city police and KMC for their cooperation to complete the project on time.
Meanwhile, the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which subsumed all indirect taxes and was implemented from July one this year, is likely to raise the construction cost of East-West Metro.
Kumar said: "GST will definitely raise the construction cost. But the exact amount of the rise is yet to be ascertained."