Mundagakanniamman Koil railway station

Mundakakanniamman Koil is a railway station on the Chennai MRTS, located near Brindavan Street and Mundakakanni Amman Koil Street in Mylapore, along the Buckingham Canal. The station exclusively serves the Chennai MRTS, and serves the neighbourhood of northern Mylapore, Santhome and Royapettah.

Mundakakanniamman Koil

Mundakakanniamman Temple
Chennai MRTS station
General information
Coordinates13.0407°N 80.2698°E / 13.0407; 80.2698
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeElevated
History
Opened14 May 2014 (2014-05-14)
Services
Preceding station Chennai MRTS Following station
Light House
towards Chennai Beach
 Line 1 Thirumayilai
towards St. Thomas Mount

History

Mundakakanniamman Koil station is the 18th MRTS station to be operational.[1] Work on the station began in 2002, at an initial estimated cost of ₹ 85.5 million.[2] The station has been built as an additional one in the first phase of the Chennai MRTS network completed much earlier. Initially slated to be completed in April 2009 at a cost of ₹ 350 million,[3] the construction was delayed due to land-acquisition issues. The next deadline was set as 2012 and again it was delayed due to getting approval for the name. The cost of construction was ₹ 100 million.[4][5] The station was opened to public on 14 May 2014.

Unnecessary Controversy in station's name

The station name had been courting unnecessary controversy ever since it was slated to be completed. The construction cost had run to ₹ 100 million.[6]

The station's name ran into unnecessary controversy in June 2013 when over 80 per cent work was over, since some local non hindu residents and organisations opposed the naming of the station after the Hindu goddess Mundakakanniamman though there are stations in India like Masjid in Mumbai suburban railway and St.Thomas Mount in Chennai suburban railway. A temple of Goddess Mundakakanniamman is almost in the vicinity of the station, which covers Ganeshapuram and Slatterpuram that have a good number of Christian and Muslim population. The station's name boards were whitewashed by some miscreants, and the inauguration of the station, which was earlier scheduled for 15 May 2013, was deferred by a year. Later the Tamil Nadu government decided to retain the name since the station is located on the very street where the temple is situated, and the station was named " Mundakakanniamman Koil."[7][8]

Structure

The station is an elevated one built on the banks of the Buckingham Canal like most other MRTS stations. The station building consists of 2,400 sq m of parking area in its basement.[1] The design of the station is similar to that of the Thirumailai station. The station has only one entrance as the Buckingham Canal runs alongside.[4]

Mundakakanniamman Koil MRTS station under construction as seen from an MRTS train in November 2012.

Service and connections

See also

References
  1. "Session II—Traffic Transportation And Parking" (PDF). CMDA. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  2. "HC orders eviction of 360 families from Slaterpuram". The Hindu. Chennai. 26 February 2002. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  3. "New MRTS station coming up". The Hindu. Chennai. 11 July 2008. Archived from the original on 13 July 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  4. Narayanan, Vivek (4 April 2013). "MRTS station to open next month". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  5. "மயிலாப்பூரில் புதிய பறக்கும் ரயில் நிலையம்". Dinamani (in Tamil). Chennai. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  6. Swaminathan, T. S. Atul (7 September 2013). "It's a name game". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  7. "பறக்கும் ரயில் மார்க்கத்தில் புதிதாக கட்டப்பட்டது முண்டகக்கண்ணியம்மன் கோயில் ரயில் நிலையம் பெயர் அழிப்பு [Newly constructed Mundagakanniamman Koil MRTS station's name board has been whitewashed]". Dinakaran (in Tamil). Chennai. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  8. "Mudagakanniamman MRTS kicks up row". Deccan Chronicle. Chennai. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
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