Metro expansion to ease women’s travel: CM Gupta

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said the expansion of the metro network will ensure safer and easier for daily travel women. Her remarks came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated two new metro corridors and laid the foundation stone for three others in the national Capital.

“With the commencement of these corridors, travel will become easier for lakhs of people across Delhi. In particular, areas in Trans-Yamuna such as Wazirabad, Khajuri Khas, Bhajanpura, Yamuna Vihar and Karawal Nagar will receive Metro connectivity for the first time,” the chief minister said.

Addressing the gathering at Burari ground, the chief minister said the Delhi Government has focused on key civic issues with a commitment to “truth and honesty”. She noted that her government worked in “mission mode” over the past year to launch welfare initiatives for the poor and the working class.

The chief minister highlighted that 70 Atal canteens now operate across Delhi, providing meals for Rs 5 to around 70,000 people daily. She also mentioned that the Government has introduced a new drainage master plan — the first in 50 years — to address waterlogging and pollution.

The chief minister spoke about several digital initiatives, noting that all Delhi Government departments have been digitised. She listed initiatives such as the e-file system, digital hospital records, online OPD booking, digital asset management, project management portals and the CM Jansunwai app.

In the education sector, she said Delhi schools have been equipped with 7,000 smart classes, 275 computers and 100 digital libraries. She also said the Government used unclaimed funds to provide Rs 200 crore to the daughters of Delhi.

“The three new Metro corridors for which the foundation stones were laid today include RK Ashram Marg to Indraprastha, Aerocity to Indira Gandhi Airport Terminal-1, and Tughlakabad to Kalindi Kunj.

“These corridors will further accelerate Delhi’s connectivity. The commencement of trial operations on the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway is another significant development for the Capital,” she said.

Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar described the metro as the “lifeline” of Delhi. Recalling the first metro inauguration on December 24, 2002, by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Khattar said the project was once a dream but has now become a major part of urban transport.

He noted that while only 245 km of metro network existed in five cities until 2014, the network has expanded to over than 1,100 km of metro and Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) networks under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership.

Delhi alone now has more than 500 km of metro network. Concluding her speech, the chief minister said that the Prime Minister’s unwavering faith in Nari Shakti is reflected in the fact that women remain at the centre of every major initiative. She invited everyone present at the programme to warmly applaud and welcome the Prime Minister and expressed her gratitude to him. She said that the people of Delhi sincerely thank the Prime Minister for these development initiatives and significant projects dedicated to the Capital.

The prime minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for metro projects worth about Rs 18,300 crore. The two new corridors of the Delhi Metro include the Majlis Park-Maujpur Babarpur (Pink Line) corridor of around 12.3 km and the Deepali Chowk-Majlis Park (Magenta Line) corridor of around 9.9 km.

The new connectivity will benefit several areas of Delhi, including Burari, Jagatpur-Wazirabad, Khajuri Khas, Bhajanpura, Yamuna Vihar, Madhuban Chowk, Haiderpur Badli Mor, Bhalaswa, and Majlis Park, among others.

The foundation stone for three new corridors under Phase V-A of the Delhi Metro, covering a route length of around 16.10 km.