Narendra Modi lays foundation for three metro lines in Mumbai, inaugurates first greenfield industrial smart city

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid the foundation stone for three metro lines, which will together add more than 42 km to the Mumbai Metro network. [caption id=“attachment_7302521” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the press in Mumbai on Saturday. ANI[/caption] The three corridors include the 9.2-kilometres-long Gaimukh to Shivaji Chowk (Mira Road) Metro-10 corridor, 12.7-kilometres-long Wadala to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Metro-11 corridor and 20.7-kilometres-long Kalyan to Taloja Metro-12 corridor. He laid the foundation stone for a state-of-the-art Metro Bhavan, which will operate and control 14 metro lines. During his visit, Modi inaugurated Bandongri Metro Station in Kandivali East. He also inaugurated a metro coach, the first one to be made under the Make in India initiative. The coach, the first in the list of 500 to be delivered to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, has been built by Bharat Earth Movers (BEML) at its Bengaluru facility in flat 75 days The Prime Minister said that the metro network is being expanded in the region at a cost of about Rs 1.5 lakh crore. “Till 2014, the metro was running in a few cities only. Today the metro in 27 cities in the country has either started or is about to start,” the Prime Minister said in the presence of newly-appointed Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi onboard a state of the art metro coach, the first metro coach manufactured under #MakeInIndia. pic.twitter.com/voeXTMSIbP

— ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2019

The prime minister also released a Brand Vision Document for Maha Mumbai Metro. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the Lokmanya Seva Sangh Tilak Mandir in Vile Parle. After laying the foundation stone for metro projects, Modi said that during immersion of Lord Ganesha idols “a lot of plastic and other waste goes into the sea”. He continued, “This time we have to try that these materials which increase pollution are not immersed in water.” He also urged people of Mumbai to make the Mithi river and other water bodies plastic-free.

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers prayers at Lokmanya Seva Sangh Tilak Mandir in Vile Parle. pic.twitter.com/qovGdZUP8k

— ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2019

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Talking about the Chandrayan-2 mission, Narendra Modi said that the ISRO scientists will not stop trying until they reach the surface of the moon. Modi’s statement came hours after Indian Space Research Organisations (ISRO) announced that they had lost communication with Chandrayaan 2’s lander Vikram minutes before its soft landing on the surface of the moon. “In Bengaluru, I was there with scientists at ISRO earlier today. I am very impressed by the courage they have shown. We can all learn from our scientists at ISRO how to work towards your aim irrespective of big challenges and difficult condition,” he said. The prime minister further highlighted that “we should remember that the orbiter sent with Chandrayaan-2 is still there, revolving around the moon.” “This is also a historical achievement,” he asserted. After Mumbai, Modi will visit Aurangabad, to address a state-level Mahila Saksham Melava (Empowered Women’s Meet) of Self Help Groups, being organised by Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Mission (UMED). The Prime Minister also inaugurated Aurangabad Industrial City’s (AURIC) Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) business and administrative building. DMIC Project is the first industrial corridor project announced by the central government. The 10,000-acre AURIC is the country’s first greenfield industrial smart city and part of the upcoming DMIC. He also inaugurated the Auric Hall, a six-storey building which will be both monitoring and administrative nerve centre for smart city, and launched the Auric chatbot that will help citizens get their problems addressed by the city administration. Once fully completed, the DMIC project will bring an investment of approximately Rs 1 lakh crore and will provide employment opportunities to nearly 10 lakh people. The central government, under Modi’s second tenure as prime minister, completed 100 days on Saturday. - With inputs from agencies