According to MMRCL, 45 percent of the roads that were barricaded in the 1,165 metres of Package 2 of the metro project have been restored.

MUMBAI: For the last seven to eight years, barricades have blocked many parts of the city on account of the underground Metro 3 project. These are now gradually being removed, a recent example being the partial removal of the barricades on D N Road a fortnight ago. The local shopkeepers that suffered on account of customers being barricaded out are crossing their fingers that business booms again.

The barricades which were placed on D N Road—which connects Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Churchgate railway station—had left businesses in dire straits. People were forced to use the smaller roads on the other side, and the revenues of shops, once buzzing with activity, plummeted.

“There was a constant flux of customers, which reduced after the barriers were installed,” said R Remedios, owner of a camera and optician store. “Now that the barricades are gradually being removed, we are hoping that customers will flock to our stores again.”

Remedios’ shop, which has been around since the mid-1940s, is empty, with bare shelves. While his old customers still drop in, this Bandra resident visits his shop for only three to four hours a day and takes ‘jobs’ back home.

S Shaikh, who has been selling bags and purses for the last two decades, said that business had dropped substantially after the barricading. He, however, had a concern regarding customers even after the removal. “The plus point was that once people entered a footpath stretch, they couldn’t leave until the next exit,” he said. “Now that the barricades are being removed, many are walking on the road instead of the footpath.”

According to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) authorities, 45 percent of the roads that were barricaded in the 1,165 metres of Package 2 of the metro project—which covers CSMT, Kalbadevi, Girgaon and Grant Road—have been restored to their original condition. Likewise in Package 1, 81 percent of the 3,236 metres of road that cover Cuffe Parade, Vidhan Bhavan, Churchgate and Hutatma Chowk have been restored.

Sources in MMRCL said that almost 63 percent of the roads across all the seven packages on the 33.5-km-long underground metro line had already been restored. Of the total 28,885 metres of road barricaded on the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro-3 line, MMRCL has restored 18,123 metres.

Sources said that once the barricades were removed, trees would be planted in the open spaces atop the Metro 3 stations. One can already see these at Churchgate station, where saplings have been lined up.

According to officials, 2,600 trees will be planted along the Metro 3 route, especially above the stations. Until now, 500 trees have been planted at 13 stations—SEEPZ, MIDC, Sitladevi, Dadar, Siddhivinayak, Science Museum, Mahalakshmi, Mumbai Central, CSMT, Churchgate, Vidhan Bhawan and Cuffe Parade. Recently, the MMRCL authorities also appealed to the public to undertake in-situ tree plantation along and around station areas.

Meanwhile, MMRCL is carrying out oscillation trials that are being monitored by the Research, Design, and Standards Organization (RDSO) of the Indian Railways.