At the flagging-off ceremony of Nagpur Metro on Tuesday. (Express photo) At the flagging-off ceremony of Nagpur Metro on Tuesday. (Express photo)

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Tuesday praised his predecessor Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for the initiatives taken by them for development in the state during the inauguration the 11-km stretch of the second leg of the Nagpur Metro via a video link.

The new stretch, Reach 3, also called Aqua Line (east-west corridor) as it passes along two lakes and the Nag river runs between Lokmanya Nagar on city’s south-western end and the commercial hub of Sitabuldi at the city’s centre. In March last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 13.5-km Reach 1, called Orange Line, between the southern end of Khapri and Sitabuldi.

Thanking Gadkari and Fadnavis for the success of Nagpur Metro, Thackeray said, “We were part of a government. We may not have boarded the same train, but today we have come together at a station.”He appealed to the two BJP leaders, Fadnavis and Gadkari, to use their good offices with the Centre to push developmental projects in the state.

Praising the “world-class” Maha Metro — a Maharashtra government undertaking — for completing a total 24.4-km stretch in just 50 months, Gadkari said Nagpur will soon be connected with neighbouring towns in Vidarbha with “broad gauge” Metros that will run at 120 km per hour.He said Maha Metro will also produce rolling stock for Pune and other Metros in the country, for which a manufacturing unit had been proposed at Sindi Rly in Wardha district.

Gadkari flagged off the maiden service on the section in the presence of state ministers Eknath Shinde, Anil Deshmukh, Nitin Raut, Sunil Kedar, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, Nagpur Mayor Sandip Joshi, besides top officials of Maha Metro.

Union Minister of State Hardeep Singh Puri participated in the event through video link from Delhi. Fadnavis also praised the Maha Metro saying “it is getting inquiries for the Metro works in various other cities”.

Brijesh Dixit, Maha Metro managing director, claimed the rate of completing work on one km in two months was a record in the country. Work for the remaining two stretches, Reach 2 and 4, is progressing at an advanced stage, he added.

The entire project is coming up at a cost of Rs 8,680 crore.

The Aqua Line, which has been ready for the inauguration for some time now, was to be launched by the PM five months ago. But the programme was cancelled at the last minute.

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