Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembered the time spent in the city. Then, he used to go around the city on a scooter. “Today, here I am launching a Metro corridor with eco-friendly and solar-powered stations. Surely, Faridabad and I have come a long way,” he said as he symbolically flagged off the first Metro on the Faridabad-Badarpur corridor.
The Metro will connect the national capital with the city.
Modi took a train of the Metro’s Violet Line (Line 6) from Janpath station in Delhi to reach Bata Chowk station here to get the feel of what he has dubbed the “green lifeline” for the upcoming smart Faridabad.
“I don’t see the corridor as a connectivity option. It will not only help in making Haryana a weekend destination, but also be an attraction in itself as all stations are environment-friendly,” he said.
The corridor’s USP is its eco-friendliness, wherein the auxiliary electricity requirement of Metro stations will be met by solar energy, the panels of which have been erected at the stations. The solar panels will produce about 2-MW electricity. In all, 37 lifts and 45 escalators have been installed at the nine state-of-the-art stations.
The lifts will be operated by environment-friendly regenerative braking technology in which kinetic energy of an elevator or lift is converted into electrical energy and supplied back in the power supply line.
“I congratulate Venkaiah (Naidu) for setting an example before the world by of making this Metro environment-friendly,” the PM said.
The long-awaited corridor delayed by more than four months has cost about Rs2,500 crore and is completely elevated.
The 13.8-km Metro line has nine stations between Badarpur (Delhi) and Escorts-Mujesar — the last station near YMCA Chowk. Two more stations — NCB Colony and Ballabgarh — will come up by 2017. The extension, though already underway, but announced by Modi as his gift to city residents would cost Haryana Rs564 crore.
The DMRC plans to operate six-coach trains on the corridor.
In numbers
13.8 km
Length of the Metro line
9 stations between Badarpur (Delhi) and Escorts-Mujesar, the last station near YMCA Chowk
2 more stations — NCB Colony and Ballabgarh — to come up by 2017
Rs 2,500 crore
Cost of the Faridabad-Badarpur corridor
Sidelights
Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu coined a new meaning of MODI — Maker of Developed India
Saffron was the colour of the day on Sunday; tents, stage and caps of BJP supporters were all saffron
Three stages were set up; one was reserved for the PM and special guests, the second for Haryana MPs and MLAs and the third for folk performances
The seating arrangement on the stage was surprising, as CM Manohar Lal Khattar and the PM were separated by the dais
Arrangements were made in the hope of a large gathering, but the response was weak not only in numbers but also in enthusiasm
The speakers asked the audience to clap; the response was never loud enough
A section of the audience started hooting when the CM was speaking, asking him to cut short his address; he wrapped up his speech within seconds
