Construction for the Gurugram Metro will start from mid-September as the piling rig which is a crucial equipment for digging the foundation of metro pillars has been deployed by the contractor on Friday, said officials familiar with the matter.
The piling rig was unloaded in front of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) office in Sector 44 near the terminating pillars of the Yellow line of Delhi metro. “The piling rig will start operation once the Bhoomi poojan of the project is carried out by the Haryana government. We expect the work to start in the next 15 to 20 days. This piling rig can move on its own and it has taken us seven days to bring this machine to Gururgam from Surat on a trailer,” said an official of the contractor.
The piling rig deployed by the contractor can dig up to 180 metres deep. “With the help of this machine we can complete the digging and concreting of a pillar foundation in 12 hours. Depending on the design finalised by Gurugram Metro Rail Limited (GMRL), our team will carry out the piling work,” he said.
Meanwhile, a senior government official aware of the matter said that Bhumi poojan for the project is likely to be carried out this month, and Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh and Union housing minister Manohar Lal Khattar will be present on the occasion apart from other dignitaries.
“There is going to be a public rally for the event as this is a major infrastructure project. It is likely that the event may be held either in Sector 29 or Tau Devi Lal stadium.,” said the official.
The contract for the first phase of Gurugram Metro was awarded by GMRL last month to the joint venture of Dilip Buildcon and Ranjit Buildcon for ₹1,277 crore plus GST.
GMRL readies traffic plan
GMRL on Friday said that preparations were underway for the start of the metro work, and they have already submitted a traffic diversion plan to Gurugram traffic police and the GMDA for approval.
“The metro project will need space of around 10 metres to 10.5 metres on the central verge of the road from Millennium City Centre Metro station to Subash Chowk and Sector 9. However, we will carry out the barricading on the road as we start work and it will move gradually down as the work expands,” said a GMRL official.
The GMRL official further said that all steps will be taken to ensure that traffic moves smoothly on this stretch, and hassles to the commuters is minimised. “The streetlight and other utilities in the middle of the road falling on the alignment will be removed by us and these will be fixed along the barricades to ensure there is proper light for the vehicles to move during the evening hours and nights. Proper diversions and signs will be installed to ensure traffic safety,” he said.
The work in the first phase of the metro project includes construction of 15.22km of the metro rail viaduct, 15 stations, a 1.85km spur to Dwarka Expressway, and a ramp to the proposed depot in Sector 33.
The metro stations to be constructed in phase 1 include Millennium City Centre — which will be connected with the present DMRC station through an interchange, Sector 45, Cyber Park (Sector 46), Sector 47, Subhash Chowk, Sector 48, Sector 33, Hero Honda Chowk, Udyog Vihar phase six, Sector 10, Sector 37, Basai, Sector 9 and Sector 101.