Modi inaugurates Delhi Metro's Magenta Line: All you should know!
What's the story
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro today in the presence of UP CM Yogi Adityanath.
They then took a ride from Noida to Okhla. Only a 12.6-km section (Botanical Garden-Kalkaji) is being opened for now.
The event has been marred by political sparring over Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal being left out. Here's all about the new line.
About
All about the new route and the new trains
The Botanical Garden-Kalkaji Mandir route opened now has seven stations in between: Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Kalindi Kunj, Jasola Vihar-Shaheen Bagh, Okhla Vihar, Jamia Milia Islamia, Sukhdev Vihar and Okhla NSIC.
Only Kalkaji Mandir is underground, rest are elevated.
The route will cater to Jamia and Amity University.
The luxurious trains will have wifi, LED/LCD screens and colorful seats.
It breaks many records in India.
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Here's how it will impact your current routes
Currently, for a Noida-South Delhi journey, commuters have to change trains at Mandi House. Now, they and those on the Noida-Faridabad route can change directly at Kalkaji Mandir. Once the entire corridor is opened, Noida-Gurgaon commuters will be able to change trains at Hauz Khas.
Glitches
Crashes and protests ahead of inauguration
Before the launch, the Delhi Metro saw a few obstacles. Just a week ahead of launch, a train on trial crashed through the wall at the Kalindi Kunj depot.
Four officials were suspended for the accident attributed to "human failure".
On inauguration day, homebuyers in Noida, yet to get possession of their apartments, protested against Adityanath.
But the launch went ahead as planned.
Politics
AAP-BJP bickering leads to Kejriwal being left out
According to reports, Kejriwal wasn't invited to the inauguration.
It is noteworthy that DMRC is a 50:50 partnership between the state and the urban development ministry, so both UP and Delhi supplied resources for its construction.
Saying passengers' safety is top priority, sources in the CMO commented, "It is for the Urban Development ministry and UP government to answer why Delhi CM wasn't invited."
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Four metro lines inaugurated in India in 2017
This is the fourth metro line to be opened this year; earlier, Kochi, Hyderabad and Lucknow were inaugurated. More metros are in the works in Nagpur, Noida, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Surat, Coimbatore, Guwahati and more.