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PM Modi flagged off the Kochi Metro and took a ride on it along with Kerala Chief Minister Pinayari Vijayan, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Governor P Sathasivam, MP KV Thomas, Minister Thomas Chandy and Mayor Soumini Jain.
Addressing the attendees of the imaugural event, PM Modi heaped praises on the Kochi Metro.
Thanking the people of Kochi, and CM Pinayari Vijayan, Modi said:
PM Modi flagged off the Kochi Metro and took a ride on the Kochi Metro along with Kerala Chief Minister Pinayari Vijayan, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Governor P Sathasivam, MP KV Thomas, Minister Thomas Chandy and Mayor Soumini Jain.
The metro will be open to the public on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kochi’s INS Garuda Naval Station on Saturday to inaugurate the Kochi Metro.
Hailed as India's first integrated multi-mode transport system, the inaugural ceremony will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, as reported by ANI.
Kochi is the eighth city to get a metro rail, after Kolkata (1984), Delhi (2002), Bengaluru (2011), Jaipur (2013), Gurgaon (2013), Mumbai (2014) and Chennai (2015.)
The inaugural event has been mired in controversies since the PMO excluded E Sreedharan from the inaugural event. Sreedharan, popularly known as “Metro Man”, oversaw the construction work as the Principal Advisor of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
After the PMO’s decision was widely criticised, it reverted its decision.
After the completion of the project, Kochi Metro thanked all the 800 migrant workers who worked hard to complete the metro rail on time with a sadhya which is a traditional Kerala meal served on a banana leaf.
This is not the only noteworthy gesture. KMRL has also employed 23 transgender persons as ground staff, along with trying to keep the metro environment-friendly.
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