GMRL starts digging first metro pillar for Gurugram metro

The piling rig was brought to the site overnight, with digging operations beginning early Monday morning. To facilitate the work, a section of the road has been barricaded, officials said.

The project contractor for Gurugram metro rail limited (GMRL) on Monday started construction work on the first pillar for the metro track under phase one of the project near sector 31 traffic signal. The piling rig was brought to the site overnight, with digging operations beginning early Monday morning. To facilitate the work, a section of the road has been barricaded, officials said.

The piling work begins for the Gurugram Metro Rail Project on Monday. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

A GMRL official said that piling work has started, and will proceed downwards towards Subash Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk while carrying out the work. “The piling rig will keep going towards sector 9. Barricading will be carried out as per the requirement of construction,” he said.

According to GMRL, the contractor is expected to construct a total of 2,178 pillars for the metro line. The piling rig being used for the construction was previously stationed near the GMDA office in Sector 44, where the first test pile was carried out.

The Gurugram metro project was inaugurated on September 5 at the same location by Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and union minister for housing and urban development Manohar Lal Khattar.

The piling rig deployed by the contractor can dig up to 180 metres deep. “With this machine we can complete the digging and concreting of a pillar foundation in 12 hours,” said a GMRL official.

Phase 1 of the project includes the construction of a 15.22-kilometre elevated metro viaduct, 15 stations, a 1.85-kilometre spur connecting to the Dwarka Expressway, and a ramp leading to the proposed depot at Sector 33.

The metro stations to be constructed include Millennium City Centre — which will be connected with the present DMRC station through an interchange, Sector 45, Cyber Park (Sector 46), Sector 47, Subhash Chowk, Sector 48, Sector 33, Hero Honda Chowk, Udyog Vihar phase six, Sector 10, Sector 37, Basai, Sector 9 and Sector 101.

GMRL has also asked the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) to expedite land transfers at Sector 10 and Sector 33. “The contractor has to set up casting yards at these locations and we have asked the authority to ensure construction waste and encroachments are removed,” he said .

An HSVP official when asked about the matter said that construction waste is being removed and they will also ensure that encroachments are cleared. “We had earlier removed encroachments in sector 33 and others will also be removed,” he said.