Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah takes a ride aboard Bengaluru's Namma Metro.
This weekend will see the inauguration of the last line in the first phase of the Bengaluru Metro - a megaproject that will hopefully make it easier to move around the traffic-choked city. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, to ensure everything goes smoothly, took an advance ride on Namma Metro on Thursday.
Usually, Bengaluru roads are congested during evening hours. For the chief minister though, it was a short, smooth ride onboard the newest line to the south from Majestic Bus Station to Jayanagar, an eight kilometres distance that usually takes 45 minutes to cover by using roads.
"Happy to have inspected and ridden on soon to be launched stretch of #NammaMetro Green Line. Bengaluru welcomes Phase 1 network this Saturday," the chief minister tweeted.
Pradeep Singh Kharola, MD, Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited, told the media, "We are getting ready to start the service this weekend for the public. There is a lot of work left as the final service trials are on. This is the last day of the service trials."
Over two lakh passengers are currently using the Metro service every day in the city. And the numbers could swell up to five lakhs once this southern line is operational.
The first phase was meant to be ready at the end of 2013. The delay also added to the cost. The initial estimate in 2005 was for Rs 6,375 crores for the 42 kilometre-long first phase. More kilometres were added to the plan - but even then the final cost of the first phase - Rs 13,854 crores - was a huge increase.
But commuters hope that the joy of a swift ride - in a city known for its crawling traffic - will be priceless.