Delhi Metro’s ITO-Kashmere Gate link to be ready in 2 months

New Delhi: The much awaited ITO-Kashmere Gate “heritage corridor” of the Delhi Metro will be launched by the end of January 2017, said DMRC chief Mangu Singh, claiming that ban on construction and old currency notes has resulted in the delay. Mr Singh termed the double whammy of the ban on construction activities in wake of the alarming pollution levels and the currency ban as “setbacks,” saying that the two decisions made the task of retaining labourers difficult.

“It suffered a setback in the last one-and-a-half months. Although it would be possible to present the line to the public by January end,” Mr Singh told the media.

According to Mr Singh, the 5.17-km-long section — an extension of the Faridabad-ITO corridor (Violet Line) — was otherwise well on its course for a launch this December.

“If you stop work for 10 days, labourers will not sit idle. Construction came to a halt and nobody knew when it would resume. People waited for one-two days and went away. So, remobilising was a difficult job and then this currency ban thing came. One must appreciate that the labourers depend on daily wages for their sustenance. This has really affected work, particularly towards the end,” he said.

He added that constructing this particular underground section, below the centuries-old Walled city, was one of the “most difficult” projects undertaken by the Metro with the need to bring in change in “alignments” being one of the factors.

Trial runs began in August on this section that will have three stations — Delhi Gate, Jama Masjid and Red Fort. Mr Singh, who took over as Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) chief in 2012 from E Shreedharan, is likely to serve for five more years with the Delhi government clearing a proposal in this regard.

The decision, however, will be put before the urban development ministry.