Gurugram Metro Rail Limited has finalised the location of the proposed Subhash Chowk station on the Old Gurugram metro corridor, but its planned entry and exit points lie in areas that have experienced severe monsoon waterlogging.
The station is planned near Subhash Chowk on the Gurugram-Sohna Highway, opposite Tarun Society in Sector 47. GMRL has identified the site and installed a notice board, according to the report. The elevated station will begin near the Subhash Chowk flyover and extend for about 180 metres, ending roughly 40 metres before the intersection.
The two proposed entry-exit gates will be located around 200 to 250 metres from the station structure. The first gate is planned just before ILD Mall on the Gurugram-Sohna Highway, while the second will be in Sector 38, about 80 metres from Sadar police station. Both gates are proposed on green areas, requiring approximately 824 square metres of land belonging to the Haryana Urban Development Authority.
The locations are also exposed to seasonal flooding. Water reportedly reached around 2.5 feet near Sadar police station during rainfall on 24 August. The stretch from Subhash Chowk towards Malibu Town experienced heavy waterlogging during the previous monsoon as well. The report said about 20 school buses stalled at Subhash Chowk during the August rain, leaving around 400 children stranded for nearly four hours. Some parents had to collect their children while moving through the flooded road, while office workers in the area used tractor-trolleys to reach Millennium City Centre Metro station.
GMRL’s response was not available in the report on the measures planned to protect passengers and maintain access to the gates during heavy rain. The location of the access points means that the station’s usability will depend not only on the elevated platform and viaduct, but also on the condition of the surrounding roads, drainage and pedestrian approaches.
Construction on the Old Gurugram metro corridor is progressing in sections. A company was assigned the construction work by GMRL in August last year and is expected to complete the metro within three years. Work is underway from Millennium City Centre towards Sector 9, and U-girders have been placed over about 500 metres near the proposed Sector 45 station.
Progress has been slower across approximately 2.4 kilometres between Hero Honda Chowk and Umang Bhardwaj Chowk because of construction-related obstacles. The section between Umang Bhardwaj Chowk and Basai has seen limited work, while two foot overbridges are also reported to be obstructing construction activity.
Subhash Chowk could later become an interchange point. The Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation has proposed a metro connection from Bhondsi to the railway station, and RITES has been assigned responsibility for preparing its detailed project report. An interchange station at Subhash Chowk is proposed under that plan.
GMDA CEO P.C. Meena said adequate arrangements had been made for rainwater drainage and that water had accumulated at Subhash Chowk only temporarily before receding. He said a permanent solution to the waterlogging problem was being developed and that additional traffic police personnel would be deployed at important junctions during rainfall.
