The trial run of the Uttar Pradesh government’s much publicised Lucknow Metro was flagged off on Thursday by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father, Samajwadi Party (SP), Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The function was held at Transport Nagar depot for the trial run up to Charbagh railway station, a distance of 8.5 km.
Mayawati, chief of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the main state opposition party of the poll-bound state, alleged that the project was completed in haste to gain cheap popularity ahead of polls.
Addressing the gathering, Akhilesh said it was a challenge to start the project on time, and added that they have “set an example before the country”.
Metro was not in our manifesto but we initiated the project. The work for the same has also been started in Ghaziabad, between Greater Nodia and Noida, and also in Kanpur. If we come to power again, we will start work in Varanasi too.
The entire 23-km long North-South corridor will have 21 stations including eight elevated ones, and the estimated cost of the project will be around Rs 6,800 crore.
The primary section (between Transport Nagar to Charbagh) would be open for public on 26 March 2017 after three months of rigorous trial. At the function, SP state president Shivpal Yadav was also present.
(With inputs from PTI)
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