Now, metro trains at Lucknow’s service
CM promises fasttracking of projects in other cities
Exactly nine months and four days after former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav flagged off the first trial run of Lucknow Metro on December 1 last, chief minister Yogi Adityanath formally launched on Tuesday first phase of Lucknow Metro from Transport Nagar Metro station.
If it was the Yadav clan whic enjoyed the ride then, it was Adityanath and Union home minister Rajnath Singh who led the entourage this time. The launch catapulted Lucknow into the elite league of cities that have Metro rail service.
Besides Adiyanath and Rajnath Singh, governor Ram Naik, union minister for urban development Hardeep Singh Puri, metro-man E Sreedharan and host of ministers of the state government were also present. Former CM Akhilesh Yadav however, whose Samajwadi Party government launched the project, skipped the function. Before first train chugged out from the station, a ‘havan’ was performed by a priest at the platform. At approximately 2pm, Adityanath and Rajnath Singh boarded the train with the other VVIPs present.
Priyanka Chaurasia, 22, of Mirzapur and Pooja, 21, of Agra were the two proud Loco pilots who steered the train on the 8.5 km run from Transport Nagar to Charbagh station.Before the flagoff, people took selfies with the two female drivers, who were no less than VVIPs on the day. “Finally, the D-Day has arrived. I had always dreamt about this day and was eagerly waiting for its arrival. I feel that my years of efforts have paid off today,” said one of the drivers Priyanka Chaurasiya, who is an electronics and communication engineer.