Nagpurians have once again reposed faith in Maha Metro due to Covid safety measures taken by it. This is evident from the increase in ridership of Nagpur Metro. On June 20, the ridership of Orange and Aqua Lines combined was 13,150. Maha Metro is confident that the ridership will increase further as people become more confident about the safety measures taken by the agency.
- The increase is huge as compared to lockdown period figures.
- On June 5, only 761 people had used the Metro.
- The figure jumped to 4,153 on the first day on unlocking – June 7 and on June 13 it reached 9,500.
- During the lockdown period the frequency of trains on both lines was one hour.
- It was increased to 30 minutes from June 7.
- At present trains ply from 6.30 am to 8 pm on Aqua Line (Sitabuldi Interchange to Lokmanya Nagar) and from 8 am to 8 pm on Orange Line (Sitabuldi Interchange to Khapri).
Safety Initiatives:
- Steps have already been taken to ensure Covid safety for passengers.
- Before the Metro services started all the trains and stations were sanitized.
- They were disinfected at regular intervals throughout the day.
- While sanitizing metro stations, emphasis was on areas with high footfall.
- The staff regularly sanitized all the touch points in the trains and stations.
- The staff sanitized the currency notes paid by passengers using ultra-violet rays and they were kept separately.
- The advisories issued by various authorities were regularly communicated to the commuters.
- Regular announcements were made on public address systems, both at stations and trains, about Covid-19 awareness.
- Standees and information boards were already in place at metro stations for passengers’ information.
25-storied Parking-cum-Commercial Complex:
Meanwhile, with the state government relaxing restrictions, Maha Metro has floated tenders to go in for parking and commercial development in a big way. When these properties are developed, they will change the face of Nagpur. 3 Tenders are live now.
- The most ambitious project is the Parking-cum-Commercial Complex, opposite Yeshwant Stadium, Dhantoli.
- The permitted height is 88 meter and hence it will be a 25-storied building.
- It will be developed on Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis.
- The land area is 19,890 square meter and the use is commercial.
- The permissible floor to space index (FSI) is 2.5 but can go up to 4.0 under transit oriented development (TOD) policy, subject to payment of a premium.
- The private operator will have to spare 15% of the land as open space.
- The maximum constructed area possible on this site is 5.25 lakh sq feet.
- The complex will be connected to Sitabuldi Interchange Metro station by a foot overbridge (FOB).
- The operator will be given a period of 4 years for construction and the concession period will be 60 years including the construction period.
- The operator will have to provide parking slots for 4-wheelers, 2-wheelers and bicycles in the complex as mandated by development control rules (DCR).
- In addition, he will have to provide an extra parking space for 100 cars and 100 two-wheelers.
Consumer electronics goods market:
- Maha Metro is also developing an exclusive consumer electronics goods market at concourse level of the under-construction Zero Mile Freedom Park station.
- 15 shops are being constructed there having area between 8.75 sq m and 13.28 sq m.
- The lease period will be 9 years.
Other projects:
- The agency has also floated tenders for leasing out 17 commercial spaces having area between 17.34 sq m to 89.35 sq m at various stations of Reach I (Sitabuldi Interchange to Khapri) and Reach III (Sitabuldi Interchange to Lokmanya Nagar).
- The lease period for these shops will also be 9 years.
- The spaces are located at Khapri, Airport, Rahate Colony, Bansi Nagar, Vasudev Nagar, Rachna Ring Road and LAD Square Metro stations.
Source: Nagpur Metro-Update
