Delhi: These FOBs will help you skip chaos below at Anand Vihar

NEW DELHI: In a move that will not only provide hassle-free connectivity to and from Anand Vihar Metro Station but also help decongest the chaotic entry point to Anand Vihar Inter-State Bus Terminal, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has constructed a network of foot overbridges (FOBs). These connect the bordering Kaushambi area in Uttar Pradesh directly with the metro station and Anand Vihar railway station.
The 360-metre-long network of FOBs was opened to the public on Tuesday.

DMRC’s plan to construct the FOBs is part of a larger exercise to decongest the area. In April last year, Delhi lieutenant governor Anil Baijal had asked DMRC to come up with plans for a skywalk or suggest alternative solutions for the smoother movement of pedestrians after surveying the area.
Anand Vihar, which is now an interchange station catering to Blue Line (Dwarka-Noida City Centre/Vaishali) and Pink Line (Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar), is one of the busiest metro stations in the Delhi Metro network visited every day on average by 50,000 people. Accessing the station, however, used to be a big hassle for commuters. They had to enter through Anand Vihar ISBT to reach the metro station and had to manoeuvre past speeding buses and a milling crowd of bus passengers.
To make this a smoother affair, DMRC constructed the network of FOBs in and around Anand Vihar Metro Station. The FOBs start from across Chaudhary Charan Singh Marg, where the UPSRTC bus terminus is located. This helps passengers directly reach the concourse area of the metro station, without the hassle of getting down near the ISBT. They can also travel from the metro station to the entry point of Anand Vihar railway station nearby.
“We have been waiting for this facility for years as getting down from the FOB outside Anand Vihar ISBT and then walking through the crowded entry point to reach the metro station was an agonising experience. What made matters worse were the many shops that have encroached on the footpath and the speeding buses,” said Pawan Mishra, a resident of Surya Vihar in Ghaziabad, who was among the first batch of commuters to use the extended FOB on Tuesday.
To ensure that passengers are properly informed about the route of the FOB, DMRC has put up ample signage at the point from where the FOB has been extended and has also deployed a couple of guards to guide passengers.
The width of the FOB is six metres and construction on it was started in November 2018 and completed within four and a half months. The FOBs now provide seamless connectivity to both metro stations of the Blue and Pink Lines, the Anand Vihar Railway Station, Anand Vihar ISBT and UPSRTC Terminus.
According to DMRC sources, the plan to extend the FOB to the metro station dates back to the time when the Anand Vihar Metro Station was being planned. However, since the extension would have come up on land belonging to Indian Railways, permission was required, which DMRC was unable to get. “Things started moving only after LG Baijal directed that a skywalk be constructed to connect the metro station with the FOB on the road outside,” a DMRC official said.
The length of the FOB on Chaudhary Charan Singh Marg is 40 metres, while the one constructed by DMRC, which connects the existing FOB with the concourse level of Anand Vihar Metro Station, measures 65 metres.