Bringing our people home safely, says PM at metro launch

Maharashtra’s automobile and IT city on Sunday joined the ranks of nearly 20 cities in the country that boast of the metro service, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi threw open to traffic the 12 km-stretch of the Pune Metro Rail project increasing mobility for the people in the erstwhile city of Peshwas.

Stating that India “is safely bringing out its citizens from the war zone through Operation Ganga during the Ukraine crisis”, the Prime Minister said: “Big countries of the world are finding it difficult to do so. But it is the growing influence of India that we have brought thousands of students back to our homeland”.

More than six years after he laid foundation stone for the 32.2 km Pune metro rail project being developed at a cost of 11,400 crore, the Prime Minister took ride on a new Pune Metro train with his “young friends|, a thing he did after purchasing a metro ticket. Modi travelled by the metro Garware Metro Station to Anandnagar Metro Station.

Immediately afterwards, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) tweeted: Ensuring convenient and comfortable travel for the people of Pune. PM @narendramodi inaugurated the Pune Metro and travelled on board with his young friends”. The PMO shared a photograph of Modi sitting inside the metro train with children.

On a day when he kick-started the operation of metro trains along the two routes of the 12 km-stretch of the metro project, the Prime Minister unveiled the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) premises, inaugurated the R K Laxman Art Gallery-Museum, laid the foundation stone of multiple development project, heralded the start of the Golden Jubilee celebration of Symbiosis University and inaugurated Symbiosis Arogya Dham.

Alluding to the inauguration of the Pune Metro Project, Modi said: “It is my good fortune that you had invited me to lay the foundation stone of Pune Metro and now you have given me the opportunity to inaugurate it. It also has the message that plans can be completed on time.”

“Pune has also continuously strengthened its identity in the fields of Education, Research & Development, IT and Automobile. In such a situation, modern facilities are the need of the people of Pune and our government is working keeping this need of the people of Pune in mind,” he said.

Modi said that while Metro services were available in very few cities till 2014, today more than two dozen cities were either being benefitted by the metro services or are on the verge of getting it. Maharashtra, he said, has quite a significant share of this expansion if we look at Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur and Pimpri Chinchwad Pune.

“This Metro will ease mobility in Pune, give relief from pollution and jams, increase the ease of living of the people of Pune”, the Prime Minister said, while calling upon Punekars to make maxim,um use of Metro and other public transport.

Averring that to cope with the growing population in our cities, development of mass transit system was the main answer.

Spelling out his vision for the growing cities of the country where government, Modi said that his government was committed to provide increasingly more green transport, electric buses, electric cars and electric two wheelers.

“Smart mobility in every city, people use single card for all transport facilities. There should be Integrated Command & Control Center in every city to make the facility smart. Every city should have a modern waste management system to strengthen the circular economy. There should be enough modern sewage treatment plants to make every city water plus, better arrangements should be made for the conservation of water sources”, he said.

Inaugurating Symbiosis University’s Golden Jubilee celebrations and throwing open to public the Symbiosis Arogya Dham, the Prime Minister said:”Knowledge should spread far and wide, knowledge should become a medium to connect the whole world as one family, this has been our culture. I am glad that this tradition is still alive in our country”.“Missions like Startup India, Stand Up India, Make in India and Aatmnirbhar Bharat are representing your aspirations. Today’s India is innovating, improving, and influencing the whole world”, he said.

Mentioning the recent reforms in the sectors of Geo-spatial Systems, Drones , Semi-conductors and Space technology, the Prime minister said “the government in the country today trusts the strength of the youth of the country. That’s why we are opening sectors one after the other for you”.

The Prime Minister also asked students to select themes to work on every year and select these themes keeping in mind the national and global needs. He said that results and ideas can be shared with the Prime Minister’s office also.