With the backing from a few Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), people from prominent South Delhi colonies have launched a website, www.metrogounderground.com, demanding that the Metro take the underground route in residential areas.

The elevated metro corridor will pass through Defence Colony, Lajpat Nagar, Greater Kailash - Part I and Kailash Colony, among other colonies. Residents feel the corridor is going to disrupt and create havoc in their personal lives.

The website delves into the dangers of an elevated metro corridor in densely populated residential areas. Residents are mainly concerned about the proposed overhead corridor that is planned between Jangpura and Nehru Place.

Rajiv Kakria of Greater Kailash-Part I's RWA said, "This particular area is densely populated. The Metro, being built close to the residential complexes, would cause more traffic congestion. People would be subjected to noise pollution, and this would affect our privacy as well."

The website - containing facts about the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation - lists the problems with elevated corridor plans. Noted town planners and environmen talists have offered their comments and suggestions.

"This is the right time to think again. The 250 KM elevated stretch of Delhi Metro Line will deface Delhi. Coming generations will always remember us for this mistake," reads the introduction on the website.

Major General (retd.) P.S. Malhotra, a resident of DBlock, Defence Colony, said: "We are not trying to create a hype of any kind. The environmental problems are for real, the reports posted on the website are not concocted. Traffic problems are going to increase and a huge concrete structure will hang over our heads for the rest of our lives."

The campaign is gathering steam. "What started as an effort by a handful of people is now turning into a huge movement. Residents are helping us in every way," says Kakria.