HMRL work tough, but we like it: Workers

HYDERABAD: The official date for the opening of Metro Rail is set for November 28 but the labourers working at the sites say the work will go on and are prepared for the long haul ahead. To meet the deadline, Metro Rail officials have added more workforce at many key metro stations where the works are still going on. Despite the increased work pressure, workers say they still look forward to work for the project.

Construction works at Begumpet metro station, for instance, is of high priority for Larsen and Turbo Metro Rail India executing the project for Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL). With just six days left for the 30-kilometre long stretch between Nagole and Miyapur to open, works at Begumpet station are going on round the clock. HMRL added 50 new workers this week to this station alone to speed up the work.

“We will be finishing the work on time and we will tidy up this place before leaving,” said Pulisar Mathur, a 40-year-old labourer from Jharkhand who has been working for the project for the past three years. “After the work is over, we will start metro work along Secundrabad to Musheerabad,” he added.
The labourers work in 12-hour shifts with an hour break. “With mounting work pressure, some of us have worked 15-18 hours a day, we get paid for working overtime,” said Mathur. 

Most of the labourers building the Metro Rail are from Jhakhand, Bihar , Odhisa and other states hired on a contract basis. They claim they are free to quit if and when they want. “It’s better to work for the metro project than with a private company, “ said Ashok Kumar from Odhisa. “We get medical treatment for free if we get hurt while at work, however, the private companies don’t even care if we die,” he added. The workers say free accommodation and transport to work helps them save more money. 

Will Metro cause loss of business for autorickshaws?

Auto drivers plying across the Metro corridor share mixed responses to the launch of new public transportation system
Share auto drivers feel their business could be hit once Metro Rail begins operation as people would make the switch to avoid traffic
Some say if the proposed minibuses by HMRL become operational, then there would be a direct impact on their livelihood
There are about 400 share autos connecting Erragadda-Lingampally stretch with nearby areas
Share auto driver Shaik Saleem says his business is profitable only if the auto is full for the entire one-way drive.  Loss of few commuters can also hit trade, he says
However, some auto drivers are optimistic as they provide last-mile connectivity that Metro cannot. In other cities, autos work as feeders, ferrying passengers from their homes to stations 
“Those who cannot afford the Metro fares, or have difficulty accessing it will still come to us,” says another driver
“Daily wage workers will continue to choose us as we can pick up and drop them at any point at affordable rates. Can Metro do that,” he asks

Congress wants metro rail extended to Old City 
Ahead of the launch of the city metro rail, the Congress has asked chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to seek Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance that the key arteries of the metro rail connecting Shamshabad airport and the Old City are completed ahead of schedule as the first-phase works of the project were already delayed by two years
Party senior leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir told reporters here on Thursday that the ruling TRS and its ally AIMIM were solely responsible for the project delay and cost escalation of `3,000 crore