As Mumbai’s first underground Metro line opens in July, heaving a sigh of relief along with residents who have been jostling their way through in crowded suburban trains are owners of businesses that faced severe disruptions due to the prolonged construction work.
The construction of Line 3, which is a 33.5-kilometre stretch from Navy Nagar in the south to Aarey Depot in the north, began in November 2017. The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) implemented extensive road closures with barricades to facilitate the work that led to the closure of several businesses operating along the alignment.
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At present, 18.123 km of the total 28.885 km has been freed of barricades along the Metro 3 corridor, as per the MMRC.
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For seven years, shopkeepers and vendors, especially along the bustling DN Road in Fort, have seen a drastic decline in revenue due to their businesses being hidden from view by the barricades. With the removal of these barricades, businesses are hopeful of reviving.
“Commercial establishments and shopkeepers call themselves survivors… We had horrifying days as our sales reduced by over 50 per cent, with a bare minimum footfall,” said Ram Gopal Gautam, the 62-year-old manager of a watch shop.
Gautam, who added that he has never seen such a slump, said, “Other businesses may have recovered after the Covid-19 lockdown, but for us, it seems like the lockdown continued longer due to these Metro barricades.”
Rajni Boutique, which is over 100 years old, still has barricades blocking its side of the road. Nisha Satankar, 58, who has been with the boutique for 40 years, said, “Film stars used to visit our boutique, but after the Metro work started, our business plummeted. We had 20 staffers, now we have just four… Our boutique renovation is done, and we’ve been assured that the barricades will soon be removed. With the Metro station’s entry and exit nearby, we hope passersby will visit our shop. That’s the only advantage we have now after all these years of struggle.”
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The Mumbai Khadi and Village Industries Association on DN Road also faced challenges. Outlet manager Mahesh Manjrekar explained they had to shift their staff to other outlets.
“Before the barricading, many leaders, politicians, protocol officers, and foreign tourists visited in large numbers. But with no access and parking space, footfall went down. Being a trust, we survived all these years, but many shops and restaurants closed down,” he said.
Many shopkeepers feel that because they sacrificed their livelihoods for the greater public good, the government should have taken measures to alleviate their financial hardships.
Ammar, a shop owner, said, “Since our property is self-owned, we didn’t need to pay rent or we would have faced severe financial hardship. Now that the barricades are removed, we are hopeful of better days ahead. However, commercial establishments like ours should have been compensated, just like project-affected people.”
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Shehzad Qureshi, who manages his late father’s antique shop at SK Shopping Centre near Fountain, expressed relief when barricades near his shop were removed. “We had to move to places nearby temporarily. We also shifted to online business and started selling old comic books and film star photos, which helped us survive,” Qureshi said.
Kallatra, a dry fruit shop on DN Road, opened nine years ago and saw its business stagnate due to Metro barricading and Covid-19 lockdown. A staffer said that tax rebates for shopkeepers would have helped, but nothing was offered. “Our tagline is ‘taste first, then buy’, but visitors could hardly come due to limited access. Besides, we had to be mindful of dust since our items are perishable.”
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The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRCL) blocked roads installed provided steel decks at several locations, including DN Road at Fountain, BKC and MIDC in Andheri. As per MMRCL, the road reinstatement work has commenced, with ongoing efforts to remove the steel deck and rebuild roads as station boxes are completed. This phased process aims for gradual restoration as the Metro line is commissioned.
This Metro line, the sole corridor traversing the island city, is expected to influence nearly 3 million people. The project promises to stimulate economic growth, with an anticipated reduction of around 4.5 lakh vehicle trips per day initially, potentially rising to approximately 6.5 lakh vehicle trips per day as the system reaches full capacity.
