The monorail runs from Chembur to Saat Rasta near Mahalaxmi in 45 minutes. File pic/Ashish Raje
Anticipating that the monorail services will have to be started in the coming months, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has started the process and will soon be appointing an agency to carry out sanitisation work. Tenders have also been invited for the deployment of sniffer dogs.
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A senior MMRDA official said, "We have invited tenders for appointment of an agency that will provide us with 20 sniffer dogs for 17 monorail stations and one depot."
MMRDA has not mentioned the specific breed of sniffer dogs but the agency that bags the contract will provide 20 sniffer dog (eight-hour shifts) squads each with one professional handler, 2 kennel unit handlers (12-hour shift), and 2 supervisors ( 12-hour shift ) for a period of 24 months.
With the ongoing pandemic, as and when monorail services start, MMRDA wants to take all precautions and provide safe travel to passengers. A tender worth R48 lakh has been invited for sanitisation of the monorail and the company that bags the contract will have to carry out the work for a period of three months. Apart from this, MMRDA has also extended procurement tender for monorail by a month.
Since the lockdown monorail services have been shut and authorities have been using this time to carry out maintenance and repair work.
The monorail facilitates the journey from Chembur to Saat Rasta near Mahalaxmi in 45 minutes. It currently takes a frustrating two hours by road, and if travelling by train, commuters must change two trains to reach Mahalaxmi.
Did you know?
At almost 20 km, Mumbai monorail is the third-largest route in the world after China with 98 km and Japan with 28 km.
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