The third wave is upon us, but after the second wave, the city had been picking up where it left off. And, that meant getting infra and services back on track. The year 2022, if all goes well, will give Mumbai a lot in terms of commuting comfort, infrastructure and on the healthcare front
Western Express Highway
By Rajendra B. Aklekar, Ranjeet Jadhav, Prajakta Kasale, Pallavi Smart, Somita Pal
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Metro 2A and 7 to be operational
T here is good news for those who have to face a lot of traffic on the arterial Western Express Highway (WEH) and the New Link Road due to the ongoing work of the Metro 2A and 7. While trial runs on both the corridors have already started, the line will be thrown open to the public this year if all the necessary safety certificates are in place. More than 90 per cent of the civil work on both the corridors is complete. Metro line 2A from Dahisar to D N Nagar is an 18.589 km-long elevated corridor with 17 stations. It will provide connectivity between the WEH, Western Railway, Metro Line 1 (Ghatkopar to Versova), Metro Lines 2B (D N Nagar to Mandale) and 7 (Andheri East to Dahisar East) and the proposed Metro Line 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar to Vikhroli). Metro line 7 from Andheri East to Dahisar East is a 16.475 km-long elevated corridor with 13 stations. Once operational, it will provide connectivity between WEH, Western Railway, Metro Line 1 (Ghatkopar to
Versova), Metro Line 2A (Dahisar to D N Nagar) and the proposed Metro Line 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar to Vikhroli. The line will reduce travel time by about 50 to 70 per cent.
AC local fare to get cheaper
Railways will streamline the fare of air-conditioned local trains to increase the number of this public transport. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in October took a few key decisions during a detailed meeting with divisional railway officials and Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation. Officials said the single-journey ticket fare of AC locals would be brought at par with what was proposed by the MMRDA or offered by the Delhi Metro (minimum Rs 10). Pass fares to stay the same.
Delisle bridge’s railway part to be completed by mid-2022
Work on the railway portion of the Delisle Road bridge in Lower Parel will be complete by mid-2022. BMC officials said the civic body will take another year to finish the approaches, and public commissioning may happen in 2023. The bridge was shut for traffic in July 2018, severely impacting office-goers working in the nearby business district of Lower Parel. It was demolished following an audit by IIT. Officials said, as the work moves ahead taking into consideration factors of lockdown, a deadline of March 2023 seems practical.
More escalators and elevators
Western Railway has planned to commission 19 escalators and five lifts (elevators) this year. Five escalators would be commissioned in January, five in February, and nine would be ready by March. As far as lifts (elevators) are concerned, two will be ready by January, two by February and one in March.
BKC-WEH elevated corridor to be opened up
Motorists who get stuck in traffic on the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area will soon be a happy lot, as the BKC-WEH elevated connector is expected to be thrown open for the public next year. Once operational, those going from BKC towards the WEH via SCLR will be able to reach the highway in less than 15 minutes. During peak hours, the CST Road, BKC Road and Kalina Road witness heavy traffic, which results in more congestion in the BKC area. The elevated road is expected to solve this problem. The elevated road project is also an extension of the SCLR and has been planned with the intention of decongesting traffic near Kurla West and Kapadiya Junction. The 3.8 km elevated road starts near Kapadiya Junction and ends on the WEH near Vakola Junction. The project, worth over Rs 400 crore, will be a four-lane flyover with one arm going towards Kurla and the other towards BKC.
Nagpur-Mum E-way to be a reality soon
One of the country’s most ambitious projects is nearing completion, as the Nagpur- Mumbai Expressway connecting the two cities will be opened up in 2022. The 701 km-long east-west Expressway is expected to cut down travel time between the two cities from 16 hours to about six to seven hours. The Expressway, which is being constructed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, will zip through 10 districts — Thane, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Jalna, Aurangabad, Buldhana, Washim, Amravati, Wardha and Nagpur, besides connecting another 24 districts at strategic points.
Deccan Queen in new avatar
The Deccan Queen train is expected to arrive in the city in new avatar this month. The changes are happening because the train is getting upgraded Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches, which would have an improved suspension system, more riding comfort, designed speed of 160 km/hr that could go up to 200 km/hr. As per the finalised designs, the new dining car will be a 40-seater with 10 dining tables and four chairs around each of its panoramic windows. Half of the coach will have a well-equipped kitchen with provisions for pantry storage, electric cooking range, deep freezers and even a refrigerator, service table, multiple sinks and service counters for the manager.
Vax for kids
Vaccination for children against COVID-19 will be rolled out in January 2022. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is preparing for the drive as it awaits the central government’s nod for the same. According to the civic body, there are 33 lakh children in the city between the age of two and 17 years. Zydus Cadila’s COVID-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D, will be administered to children above 12 years, and is likely to be introduced as part of the vaccination programme soon. While Covaxin involves two doses to be given at an interval of 28 days, three doses of the Zydus vaccine need to be given at an interval of 30 days.
More restaurants-on-wheels in ’22
In 2022, five more stations will get restaurants-on-wheels, the first of which was thrown open to the public at CSMT in 2021. Converted from old rail coaches, the restaurant serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. The restaurant coach, mounted on rails, is located at the Heritage Gully, opposite platform no 18, CSMT. CR plans to open more of these at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Kalyan, Neral, Lonavala and Igatpuri. Tenders have been awarded for six locations outside Mumbai, including Nagpur, Akurdi, Chinchwad, Baramati and Miraj stations.
Digital app, more electric buses, charging stations
BEST General Manager Lokesh Chandra last year told mid-day that the digital ticketing app should be ready by 2022, a new year’s gift to Mumbaikars. “It will not only enable digital transactions, but also live-track buses, get a status of ETA (Expected Time of Arrival) and even vacant seats on en-route buses. For those who are not digital savvy, a smart card will do the trick. By the end of last year, BEST had a fleet of about 386 electric buses, India’s largest for any public transporter. Chandra had told mid-day that the fleet and charging points would be increased significantly.
Booster dose
Administration of booster doses to healthcare and frontline workers along with senior citizens is expected to start in January 2022. While the government has been focusing on reaching a 100 per cent vaccination cover, it is yet to finalise the booster dose policy. The Indian Medical Association has demanded booster doses for healthcare and frontline workers at the earliest. A decision on whether to give the same vaccine or a combination of Covishield and Covaxin is also awaited.
Thane-Diva opens in Feb
The 11-year-old stranded additional rail line corridor of Thane-Diva will open in February 2022. Central Railway undertook rail blocks of several hours in December to connect and align the old and the new lines. This corridor will see a sea change in the rail traffic of Mumbai CR, and not only increase the number of suburban trains, but also segregate the outstation mail/express trains between Kalyan and Kurla. The fast local trains will get a dedicated path. New platforms have also been built at Kalwa and Mumbra stations.
New Edu Policy
The task force, which has been constituted to implement the New Education Policy (NEP) for the state, has submitted its recommendations. The NEP is likely to bring about several relevant changes in the higher education sector. Starting with transition of degree courses from three to four years, to availability of exit facility at the end of each year with a suitable certification of completion and encouraging autonomies and formation of multiple universities, the NEP is expected to change the very face of higher education.
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