ONE OF THE PRIME AREAS UNDER THREAT IS AMBEDKAR PARK, WHICH ASSUMES DOUBLE SIGNIFICANCE IN BSP-RULED STATE

GHAZIABAD: Vaishali Metro station in Ghaziabad -- part of the Anand Vihar-Vaishali line -- is now to be shifted to another location because the original porposed route is stepping on too many feet.

One of the prime areas under threat in the current proposed plan is `Ambedkar Park', which assumes double significance in the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ruled state of Uttar Pradesh (UP).

As per Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) officials, Ambedkar Park, VaishaliPodium and Krishna-Vatika were posing problems at the proposed Metro site.

"Some residents objected to this station as the said parks have a high density of trees and these could not be cut off. This has necessitated shifting the Vaishali-station to the animal park which is further away," GDA Secretary Raj Kumar Sachan said.

Although, the GDA officials denied any special significance to the potential threat to Ambedkar Park, sources say that it was a prime concern as local groups objected to the hypothetical destruction of the green area.

Even the Vaishali Podium which was built during the Samajwadi Party (SP) rule in UP will remain untouched as per the new plan proposed by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA).

A Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesperson also confirmed that the site is being shifted to a new location at a nearby park.

However, the reversal-point for trains posed certain problems due to the new proposed site.

"There would be some changes in the train reversalpoint," said a DMRC spokesperson. "The reversal-point was supposed to be constructed after the originally proposed station. It would now be constructed before the new station-site for change-over of the track by trains," he said.