Vendors hopeful of business revival after 7 years, as Mumbai Metro 3 barricades gradually come down

With a section of Mumbai’s first underground Metro line set to open in July, the city's daily commuters will be able to breathe easier. For now, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has removed barricades on the 18.123 km-long stretch out of the total 28.885 km-long Aqua Line corridor. This has ignited hopes among retailers along DN Road in Fort, in terms of business activities, which had been obscured for the past 7 years.

As Metro-3 nears completion, services are scheduled to commence on the entire route by late 2024. The entire corridor's barricades are slated for removal by year's end.

In November 2017, construction began on Line 3 of Mumbai Metro, stretching 33.5 km from Navy Nagar in the south to Aarey Depot in the north. For this, MMRC had implemented extensive road closures with barricades to facilitate this project. However, back in December 2022, with the metro's construction nearing 75% completion, MMRCL decided to initiate the removal of road barricades. Currently, 10 km of barricades are still to be removed.

For the past seven years, shopkeepers along DN Road in Fort, have been witnessing a substantial revenue loss, owing to the barricades. Now, with the removal of it, there's hope for a revival in business activity. Additionally, Mumbai has lost over 21,000 trees in six years, to make way for Metro and other road projects.