Coimbatore: In a huge pre-poll bonanza for the district, deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam allocated Rs 6,683 crore for the metro rail project in the interim budget that was tabled on Tuesday. The fund allocation comes almost three years after he announced the metro rail project for the district in the assembly.
He said a detailed feasibility report for setting up the metro rail for about 44km at a cost of Rs 6,683 crore in the first phase was already prepared and the same was under scrutiny.
A source privy to the project said five corridors, covering a total distance of 144km, have been proposed and preparation of a detailed project report was underway.
The first corridor, the source said, would cover 26km between Ukkadam and Kaniyur, the second 24km between Ukkadam and Bilichi near Karamadai on Mettupalayam Road, the third 42km between Thanneerpandal on Thadagam Road and Karanampettai on Trichy Road, the fourth 44km between Karunya Nagar and Ganeshapuram, and the fifth corridor would cover 8km between Ukkadam and Vellalore, where the integrated bus terminus would come up.
Earlier, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) had selected the engineering and consulting firm, Systra, to conduct feasibility study for implementing the project in the city. It had in its report suggested four corridors. About a year ago, the CMRL had decided to create a fifth corridor, connecting Ukkadam and Vellalore.
Industries and trade associations have welcomed the move. M V Ramesh Babu, president, Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries Association, said, “Considering the rising vehicle population on the road, flyovers will also become congested in five to six years. At that time, the metro rail project would be helpful to decongest the traffic on the roads. A lot of people would start using metro trains if proper connectivity is provided.”Good infrastructure, he said, would attract many big firms to the district, further boosting the industrial development.
Expressing a similar view, Vanitha Mohan, vice-chairperson, Kongu Global Forum, said industries were looking forward to moving to two-tire cities with good internal, air and rail connectivity. “With this project in place, a lot of industries might come to the district. Lack of infrastructure development would suffocate the growth of the region.”
Urging the government to implement the project at the earliest, she said many roads in the district were narrow and flyovers alone could not decongest the roads.