UP CM rejects 'Metro Man's' resignation, gives 3 projects
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath rejected 85-year-old 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan's resignation as the state's metro advisor, and handed him three more projects. The first phase of the Lucknow metro is ready, while plans for Varanasi have been made. "The UP CM now wants metros in Agra and Meerut too, along with Kanpur," Sreedharan said.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has put Metro Man E Sreedharan back on track. The priest-turned-politician's pro-development push is set to see the train system chug into six cities of the state even before their population eligibility make the cut. Sreedharan delivered his home project, Kochi Metro, last month. On turning 85, he planned to "hang his boots", and met the UP CM to convey his decision of retiring from his advisory role to the state government. "The UP CM not only did not allow me to tender my resignation but added the responsibility of planning metros for three more cities. He is very keen on getting the metro to his own constituency, Gorakhpur," Sreedharan said in Kochi on Thursday.While the first phase of metro will be commissioned for commercial operations in state capital Lucknow any time now, the home turfs of Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be gifted a metro rail much before they make it to the merit list. "While the phase I project, a 10.5-km line for Lucknow is ready for inspection by the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety and will be thrown open to the public once it gets a nod, detailed project reports for Varanasi have already been made," said Sreedharan. "The UP CM now wants metros in Agra and Meerut too, along with Kanpur. For Meerut, there are already plans of linking it with the Rapid Rail."MORE BUSINESSA boom in the development of mass transit metro projects in India is not only helping free up choked roads, but is also generating business opportunities as the country ploughs funds into updating its creaky public transport system. Adityanath's metro push, however, has to circumvent a wall of heritage structures in UP's temple towns. The plan for Varanasi proposed by Sreedharan met with the CM's disapproval as it went precariously close to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple."We are now going to redesign the plan and are working on a light metro project for the city that will cost less, reduce noise and vibrations," Sreedharan added.Metro projects are usually commissioned for cities with a population of over two million (20 lakh) residents whereas light metro, which is yet to be implemented in any Indian city so far, is proposed for those with population between one and two million. State governments, however, can plan or propose a metro system in advance, looking at a city's long-term transportation requirements, tourism indices and a comprehensive mobility plan is drafted to study the feasibility of the project.Comparing the construction of metro rail with China, Sreedharan pointed out, "While China builds 300 km of metro rail per year, India lags far behind with only 22 km a year."As the dust settles following rumours of his running for the post of President, Sreedharan insists he was never spoken to about a possible nomination. "It was entirely kite-flying by the media. No one from the government spoke to me about it. In fact even if someone did, I would have turned it down. I am 85. Do you think I will survive another five years?" he laughed.As the Delhi Metro grapples with unprecedented delays in line openings and commuter rush, Sreedharan, who introduced the transport system to the city, said, "Ever since I retired from Delhi Metro, I ensured that even my shadow does not hover around the place. The new MD and team are very competent. The challenges today are very different but they have worked very well."Also WATCH: