Bandra residents slam plan to shift Metro station ‘without notice’

MUMBAI: Members of Varde Marg Residents’ Association in Bandra West have objected to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) move to shift one of the Metro 2B stations originally planned near National College towards Tata Blocks.
Residents have questioned the authorities on the need to “discreetly” shift the station, “without public notice, prior information or consulting” with them.Besides, they fear this move will affect a popular open space in the area— Sadhu Vaswani Garden.
When contacted, an MMRDA official said it is difficult to stick to the original location due to the presence of a 3. 2-diametre sewer line.
“There is no scope to lay the foundation at the earlier location. The other option is to delete the station altogether, which will inconvenience alot of commuters. However, we will try our best to prevent work on the garden patch,” said the officer.
This past Thursday, local BJP MLA Ashish Shelar met chief minister Eknath Shinde over the issue. Shelar tweeted: “Following up on my request to re-shift the proposed National College #Metro Station on Metro Line 2B to its original intended location,CM @mieknathshinde ji has given positive assurance for the same. ”
The residents had shot off aletter to Shelar on February 28, saying they were shocked that the MMRDA had moved the Metro 2B Station to S V Road, Bandra, outside Dr Shroff Eye Hospital near Tata Blocks without any notice.
“The station was originally planned near Jivan Kiran bungalow outside Railway Colony. To make a Metro Station near the very busy H P Junction will be a complete disaster. Further, they plan to make the entry and exit of this station from Sadhu Vaswani Garden. This will destroy the only open green space that we have in this area. On 02 July 2021 you had inaugurated thisgarden yourself and we are aware that there were so many challenges faced in its renovations. If the Metro Station is moved near Tata Blocks, the Sadhu Vaswani Garden will be lost forever,” stated the letter.
Zameer Palamkote, cochairman of Varde Marg Residents’ Association, said they are all for the betterment of the city and fully support infrastructure projects undertaken by the MMRDA such as the Mumbai Metro. “However, as local residents who are familiar with the ground realities, we foresee various irreversible issues that will be disastrous and have an adverse impact on Bandra, if the mentioned station is shifted. For instance, shifting thestation towards one of the busiest junctions on S V Road in our opinion will be absolutely catastrophic and it goes against the principles of sound town planning.
The H P Junction in Bandra will become a bigger traffic nightmare. We are all aware of the subsidiary activities that crop up near Metro stations: Hawkers, share autos and taxis, illegal parking, commercial encroachment and squatters, just to name a few. This is the case at each and every Metro station that has come up in Mumbai till date, without exception. Bandra being a hub of shopping, restaurants, entertainment and tourist attractions is bound to allure even more of these exploits,” he said.
Former Bandra corporator Asif Zakaria said all parks in the city should be kept out of such works. “Already there are such few open spaces in the city, so why take over a portion of this park as well,” said Zakaria. Several civic gardens have been affected owing to Metro works in the city.
Activist Zoru Bhathena said last week along with local residents he had visited the garden that is likely to get affected. “I have filed an RTI query seeking details about the MMRDA plans as residents were not officially consulted over it. A portion of the garden being sliced is not a good sign,” he said.