‘Governments come and go, metro in Old City is a matter of implementation’

Metro train beside River Musi near the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station which is the last stop on the Green Line. The metro extension has been one of the issues during this election to the Telangana Assembly. | Photo Credit: K.V.S. Giri

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy recently directed the exploration of the metro line between Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS)-Falaknuma and L.B. Nagar via the Chandrayangutta metro alignment. But, the residents of the Old City remain cautious in having their hopes high.

“Hukoomataan aate, hukoomataan jaate, metro ka kaam hota ya nai, yeh dekhna hai. (Governments have come and gone, but it is to be seen whether metro work will be completed),“ said Syed Kaleem, a resident of Falaknuma, who travels every day to his place of work in Kukatpally. “The BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) was in power for about 10 years. Despite this, the metro line did not reach the Old City. Now the Congress is in power. Only time will tell whether they will make it happen,” he said.

Mr. Kaleem reaches his office either by taking the 9F or 9 Y/F bus from Falaknuma to reach Ameerpet. The onward journey to Kukatpally depends on the time he has on his hands and the urgency of work.

A similar guarded optimism was shown by Mohammed Faraz, a resident of Santosh Nagar, who travelled every day to Maulana Azad National Urdu University for two years till recently. A master’s graduate in political science, Mr. Faraz said, “The CM’s comments are good. But everything depends on the implementation. The old alignment is likely to reduce traffic congestion along the route— meaning Darul Shifa. There have been instances in which Ola and Uber drivers cancel rides when they get to know that the trip is to the Old City. The metro will ensure that there is a viable, alternative mode of transport for the people of the Old City.”

“It has been a long wait. And given that there is an issue of public transport within the Old City, the metro can partially solve the problem,” said Mohammed Qutubuddin, a resident of Shalibanda.