Ghaziabad: Construction of a metro pillar by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on the Indirapuram side of NH9/DME has led to the closure of the slip road connecting NH9 to CISF Road, which is one of the main arteries linking the highway with Vasundhara. As a result, traffic from Noida Sector 62 is being forced to take a detour of about 4 km, adding to congestion on an already busy stretch.A commuter coming from Sector 62 in Noida now needs to take the underpass and continue for nearly 2 km on the DME. Then he has to slip left onto the Pushta Road and continue for 1-1.5 km and traverse through Ahimsa Khand via Ram Manohar Lohia Marg before reaching the CISF Road.“Every day I have to take this 4 km detour. There is so much traffic on this stretch during office hours and I am always running late for work,” a commuter who works in an automobile store in Shipra Sun City market, Makdum, said. “It seems dozens of development works — road, drain and now metro — have started in Indirapuram all at once and there is no coordination between any of the authorities.”The digging of roads across Indirapuram has made the commute more difficult. For years, Indirapuram has existed in a civic limbo. Since the township was handed over to the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation on Oct 3, 2024, much of Indirapuram has turned into a patchwork of excavation sites. Roadsides are dug up to lay pipelines, repair drainage lines or install utility poles. In many places, pits remain open for weeks or months.A DMRC official said the metro pillar is being constructed as part of the train reversal facility for the Line-3 extension between Noida City Centre and Noida Electronic City stations.“The service road near Pier P386 towards Ghaziabad (close to Sector 62, Noida) will remain closed till June 2026. This closure is essential for casting foundations of temporary support structures and placing trestles required for launching a 58-metre steel girder,” he said. “A traffic diversion plan has been obtained from the authorities, including NHAI and the traffic police. The Ghaziabad traffic police has also been informed.”A GDA official said the construction of the metro pillar might create a problem for commuters now, but it should be seen as an extension of the 5 km Noida Electronic City to Sahibabad metro extension corridor project.“Extension of 5.1 km Noida Electronic City to Sahibabad extension will take place in the coming years. The spot where the new metro pillar is coming up is along that alignment. Whenever work on the project starts, we will get a head start because by that time the second metro pillar in Indirapuram will already be in place,” he said.Due to funding issues, the project is still under consideration by the state and Centre. “We have already asked DMRC to come up with a fresh DPR of three metro projects in the city, which include Noida Electronic City Sector 62 to Sahibabad; Shaheed Sthal New Bus Adda to Ghaziabad; and Vaishali on Blue Line route to Gokulpuri in Delhi,” added the official.The Noida Electronic City Sector 62 to Sahibabad section, which will be about 5.1 km long, is also on the list. It will have five stations, including Indirapuram, Shakti Khand and Vasundhara Sector 5.
