Considering the demand of Tata Blocks, Bandra West, residents to shift the upcoming National College Metro station from their area, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has sent a proposal to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the MMRDA chairman. The station is part of Metro 2B corridor which extends from Andheri to Mandale.
The locals had approached BJP MLA Ashish Shelar, demanding to shift back the station to its originally planned location opposite the Western Railway Colony. The residents cited probable axing of trees in the Sadhu Vaswani Garden as the reason behind their opposition. “After going through various options, shifting the station back to its original position is difficult,” said a senior MMRDA official.
While the locals, Pashin Katpitia, Zameer Palamkote and others, continue to demand shifting of the station to its originally planned location so as to not to cause inconvenience to college students. As they would have to either travel to the Bandra Metro station or Khar station in absence of National College Metro facility.
“A proposal for deletion of the National College Metro station has been submitted to the Chief Minister and MMRDA Chairman for directions. After receipt of approvals from them, the proposal will be put up in an authority meeting of the MMRDA for final discussion,” read a letter addressed to Bandra West MLA Shelar.
Adjacent to the original location, which was proposed for the station, there are four colleges, R D National College, MMK College of Commerce and Economics, Thadomal Shahani Engineering College and G J Advani Law College. Surprisingly, none of these colleges, which are run by the Hyderabad Sind National Collegiate Board, have made any demand to have the station closer to their educational institutions.
