Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan and his wife, Vimala, took everyone by surprise on Sunday after they boarded a train of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL), unannounced from Begumpet and travelled till Miyapur.
As soon as officials were notified, HMRL MD NVS Reddy who was conducting an inspection at Kukatpally, received them at Miyapur station.
Reddy met with the couple and informed them of all the facilities that were being provided. He also took them around the public space and facilities developed at Miyapur station. Following this, the Governor and his wife travelled back to Ameerpet and later to Begumpet, in the metro.
Narasimhan also recommended to Reddy that some stations should be developed as ‘art museums’ on the lines of the Moscow metro.
Earlier this year, Telangana Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao said that the Hyderabad Metro Rail would make its services from Ameerpet to LB Nagar operational, by the last week of July this year. However, it is unlikely to happen, as some work still remains to be done.
If the stretch till LB Nagar opens, it would mean that the entire Corridor 1 of the metro project is completed.
The 30 km-long section of the first corridor from Nagole to Miyapur was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 28 last year and has 24 stations. They cover a large part of the city - from the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal to Osmania University and the Secunderabad Railway Station, to other areas like Ameerpet and Kukatpally.
Speaking to the media in May this year, HMRL Managing Director NVS Reddy said that the 16-km stretch between Ameerpet and LB Nagar as part of Corridor-I would be completed by this year, while the work between Ameerpet and Hitec City will be finished soon as well.
Corridor 2 and Corridor 3 of the Hyderabad Metro, touted to be the largest metro project in the world in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, aims to be functional by December 2019.
IANS inputs