RITES misses deadlines of submission of DPR of Srinagar Metro

Srinagar (Urban Transport News): The Railway Agency RITES is not yet submitted the detailed project report (DPR) of the Srinagar Metro Rail Project which was supposed to submit it by September 2017. According to the RITES official, forget commencement of actual work, delay in preparation of even the mandatory detailed project report for Srinagar metro train service is likely to hold the ambitious project up for up to a decade. The Srinagar Metro rail project has been envisaged for reducing the projected traffic congestion in the summer capital and to provide cheap, faster and reliable transportation to commuters. The Rs 15881 crore Srinagar Metro Project was scheduled to commence from April 1, 2017, and the RITES was supposed to submit the complete detailed project report (DPR) by September 2017. However, until now the DPR of the Srinagar metro is not ready. Delay in setting execution of the project in motion will also result in cost escalation. The comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) and traffic surveys of both Srinagar and Jammu cities have already been completed but RITES has failed to furnish a proposal for remaining activities, delaying the process of crucial governmental approvals. "Recently, a meeting with the representatives of RITES was held in Jammu. They presented a draft of the project. The draft needs some more additions and subtractions", sources said. “The work on preparation of DPR seems to be going on at snail’s pace. I think the project may get its foundation stone in the next ten years, or maybe we have only phase-I completed in the next fifteen years,” said an official on the condition of anonymity. The proposed corridor-I for Srinagar starts from HMT Junction and culminates at Pampore Bus Stand with Batmaloo, Lal Chowk, Badami Bagh and Pantha Chowk as important stations in between. Corridor-II is proposed to start from Usmanabad to end at the Airport with Soura, Jama Masjid and Ram Bagh as important stations. The third corridor in Srinagar city is proposed between Munshi Bagh and Batapora. A total of 16 halting stations are planned in corridor-I, 19 in corridor-II and 10 in corridor-III at an average distance of 1 Km. Once completed, the metro train service in Srinagar and Jammu is expected to run for 17 hours every day, but during winter months it will run for 13 hours a day in Srinagar. In Jammu, the proposed corridor-I in envisaged between Kheri and Exhibition Ground with Bantalab, High Court, Parade Ground, and BC Road Bus Stand as important stops. Corridor-II for Jammu is proposed to start from Barnai and culminate at Bari-Brahmana Railway Station with Shakti Nagar, Canal Head Chownk, Trikuta Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Kunjwani as important stations. Japan is providing financial assistance for this major project under the Japan-India Special ODA Loan for Metro and Railway Projects in India. The J&K government has appointed the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) as a nodal agency for implementation of this ambitious project.