Metro tunneling stalled by drain politics

Bhopal: The politics of drain diversion may divide constituencies, but the water beneath the city's Hamidia Road is indifferent. Patra Nadi, the stubborn channel flowing out of Lower Lake, continues to flood the underground, halting Metro tunneling despite years of bureaucratic wrangling.Different agencies have tried to redirect its course, only to create new choke points. Indian Railways' road to its Post Office near platform six added another blockage. The proposed reroute to Pushpa Nagar faces opposition from Narela residents, while businesses in Bhopal North insist the drain must not clog. The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), caught in the middle, has limited itself to clearing garbage daily to keep life moving above ground.Metro engineers say the waterlogging has made tunneling impossible. "We assumed the area would remain dry outside the monsoon season, but it is flooded below," an MPMRCL official admitted. The corporation now awaits BMC's assessment and approval before compensation and evacuation measures can proceed.For now, the Metro project remains hostage to a drain whose flow ignores political boundaries and which underscores the city's struggle to reconcile infra with nature. A building along Hamidia Road, directly above the alignment of Bhopal's underground Metro, is set to be vacated for nearly a month. Yet officials admit this pause is only a temporary fix, not a comprehensive solution.