Arthur Road jail halts Monorail in its tracks

Security concerns have prompted the MMRDA to design the plan of the project at the Jacob Circle end in consultation with the police

Security concerns have prompted the MMRDA to design the plan of the project at the Jacob Circle end in consultation with the police

The monorail between Jacob Circle and Chembur via Wadala has found an unusual obstacle the Arthur Road Jail.
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The chosen spot for the end of this Rs 2,460 crore-monorail was near the jail, but the Mumbai Metropol-itan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) is now worried that it could prove to be a security hazard.
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facing PROBLEMs: The site of the 19.54-km-long monorail, which will connect Jacob Circle to Chembur via Wadala.

Therefore, as a precautionary measure, the MMRDA, that is building the monorail, has now decided to prepare the designs for the project at Jacob Circle in consultation with the Mumbai police.

Ratnakar Gaikwad, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, "We will show the designs of the monorail at the Jacob Circle end to the Mumbai police and jail authorities before giving the nod of approval.
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The height of the monorail too will be reworked, so that it doesn't create security concerns for jail authorities."
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Usually, the monorail plies on the sides of narrow roads at a height of 5.5 meters above ground level.

However, when contacted, Rajnish Seth, deputy inspector general, prisons (western region), said, "As of now, we haven't received any intimation from the MMRDA or any other agency."

The MMRDA had already started work on the monorail at Wadala, Chembur and Kalachowkie. Work at Jacob Circle was scheduled to begin after the elections.

About the monorail

The monorail is a smaller version of the metro rail and can carry 15,000 passengers per hour one way. A four-coach monorail has the capacity to transport about 600 passengers at one go.
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The cost of constructing the monorail is Rs 80 crore per km and the average speed of monorail is 30 km/hr.

It is built in areas that are congested and where commuting is a problem. The Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle monorail will stretch u00a019.54 km.