Belpada villagers demand change in name of station

They want one name among the proposed 11 stations in Belapur to Pendhar route altered

Veda Ramaswamy, Kharghar

May 21, 2011 - DNA Navi Mumbai

The villagers of Belpada are demanding change in name of one of the proposed 11 stations in Phase I - Belapur to Pendhar route of the Navi Mumbai metro rail project. They want the proposed CIDCO Science Park station to be renamed as Belpada Science Park station. The local village people’s committee led by Shiv Sena leader Shirish Gharat had sent a proposal to the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on May 15, demanding the name of the station to be changed in order to retain the identity of the village.

“In 1971, CIDCO had bought the land at Belpada from the farmers of the village for the development of Navi Mumbai. When CIDCO developed Kharghar node, the villagers of Belpada had demanded a similar name change of the Kharghar Railway Station to Kharghar-Belpada. But their plea had fallen on deaf ears,” said Gharat. Again the village seems to be losing its identity since no station has been named after it. Hence the committee decided to send the letter to the officials under the leadership of Gharat. “The Navi Mumbai metro rail project is a great initiative taken by the CIDCO. But at the same time, it should be ensured that a village as old and significant as Belpada should not be neglected. Both the proposed stations - CIDCO Science Park and Utsav Chowk are originally at Belpada, but the village has not been given any acknowledgment. This has hurt the sentiments of many villagers,” said Gharat.

“Belpada is a noteworthy village which has not received its due recognition. If the station is renamed as Belpada Science Park, it would help the village regain its individuality and gratify the residents,” said Vishwanath Mhatre, a resident of the village. Gharat is also planning a meeting with the Chief Minister in the coming fortnight to raise his concern over the issue and ensure that an action is taken.

The metro rail project is the first metro route to be entirely owned by a public body - CIDCO unlike the Mumbai metro project wherein a private firm owns a major stake. Out of the three phases, Phase I is an 11.1 km long rail route between Belapur and Pendhar and is estimated to cost around Rs 1,984 crore. The proposed railway stations on this route are Belapur Railway Station, Sector-7 Belapur, CIDCO Science Park, Utsav Chowk, Sector-14, Central Park, Pethapada, Sector-34, Panchnand and Pendhar.

From Pendhar, the next 8 km phase would connect the metro to Navi Mumbai airport site near Khandeshwar after passing via Kalamboli and is expected to cost around Rs 1,605 crore. In the final phase, the two corridors shall be joined together between Pendhar and MIDC by a link of 2.2 km. This link shall form a loop from Belapur to Khandeshwar and would cost the authorities around Rs 574 crore.

The metro is touted to ease the commuting woes of Navi Mumbaikars to suburban stations, residential nodes and the upcoming international airport in Panvel.