Agra Aug 20 : Even as the tunneling operation has picked up momentum in the vicinity of the Agra Fort, the Taj City Metro rail project has been hit by an unexpected controversy.

These last few weeks have seen a series of protests from interest groups that want the Metro to go underground on the lifeline of the city, the Mahatma Gandhi Road. The existing plan includes an overhead Metro line on pillars.

The owners of the commercial establishments, shops, and showrooms, have been agitating to demand change in the plan, as they fear that once work starts on the MG Road stretch, commercial activities would be badly affected and there would be permanent traffic jams.

At a public rally held two days ago at the Shaheed Smarak, the protesters voiced their concern and demanded urgent action to modify the plan suitably. A BJP legislator extended support to the movement, while nine other MLAs and two MPs have chosen not to join the public outcry.

The two-phased 29.6 km long Metro rail network project has picked up steam and is all set to become operational in early 2024, ahead of the target date, definitely before the Lok Sabha polls. Three stations on the Taj Mahal Eastern Gate to Shah Jahan Park roundabout are ready. Tunneling work at two different sites is continuing at a brisk pace. The traction and electrical work for the six km priority corridor from Jama Masjid to Taj East Gate is progressing toward completion.

Officials said a number of new features have been added and the trial run on the three-kilometer stretch has been successfully completed. On Friday, it set a unique benchmark by installing the roof slab for its 132 kv receiving substation at ISBT through the precast method, which reduces the commissioning time by 30 days.

UPMRC officials said they were committed to giving the people of Agra a world-class metro rail system within the set timeline.

But the shopkeepers are fuming fire and brimstone and look hell-bent to stall the project if the Metro does not go underground.

Shishir Bhagat, one of the campaigners for the underground rail line, says: "Most schools are located on the MG Road, the government offices including the district headquarters plus the courts and hospitals are along the MG Road. Imagine the chaos there will be once work starts on the overhead line. For a year the whole city would be in a state of mess or paralysis because there is hardly any open space on the MG road."

Delegations of business leaders have met state ministers in Lucknow and also central ministers in Delhi, but so far there has been no indication of any review.

The local officials of the Metro rail deny any change in the plan. A review at this stage is not feasible. Costs could escalate and there would be avoidable delay and uncertainty, according to some social activists who wonder why the protesters woke up so late.

"The movement a group of shopkeepers have launched does not have any significant impact as people of Agra have largely ignored their demands. When work was going on in the stretch from the Taj East gate to the Fatehabad crossing, no one raised this issue, why suddenly a group seeking to stall the project," the supporters of the metro rail project ask.