On December 7, 2020, the inauguration ceremony for the construction work of Phase-1 of the Agra Metro project in Agra, Uttar Pradesh (UP) was held at 15 Battalion PAC parade ground in Agra. The project was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi in the presence of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Chief Minister (CM) of UP, Yogi Adityanath, and UP Governor Anandiben Patel.
- The project comprises 2 corridors with a total length of 29.4 km has an approximate outlay of Rs 8,379.62 cr and will be completed in 5 years.
- The project will benefit the 26 lakh population of Agra with ‘Ease of Living’ as it will reduce pollution and traffic and also cater to more than 60 lakh annual tourists of the city.
- With this Project, Agra will get an environment-friendly Mass Rapid Transit System.
Key Points:
–The first metro train will run on the six-km priority section from Taj Mahal to Jama Masjid.
–According to the detailed project report (DRP), the distance between Sikandara and Taj East Gate corridor will be 14km and comprise 13 stations.
- The length of the second corridor from Agra Cantt to Kalindi Vihar will be 15.4km and comprise of 14 stations.
–Notably, The metro rail will cover 1km in two minutes. Means the distance which takes one hour by road will reduce to half an hour.
–This metro project was inaugurated by PM in March 2019 along with the commencement of commercial operations of Lucknow Metro on 23 km long North-South corridor from Chaudhary Charan Singh (CCS) International Airport to Munshipulia in Lucknow.
Additional Info :
–The Central Government has processed the development work of cities at 4 levels viz. Resolution of long standing problems, Ease of living, Maximum investment, More use of modern technology.
–India ranked at 34 in Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index 2019 as compared to 65th in 2013.
–Government will spend more than Rs 100 lakh crore under the National Infrastructure Pipeline Project.
–Work on the 1000 km long metro lines is in progress in 27 cities all over India.
Recent Related News:
i.On August 17, 2020, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved the renaming of Manduadih Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh (UP) as ‘Banaras’.
ii.On October 6, 2020 Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways inaugurated the renaming of 115 year old Naugarh railway station to Siddharthnagar railway station, located at Siddharthnagar district in Uttar Pradesh (UP), through a video link.
About Uttar Pradesh (UP):
Tiger Reserve– Etawah Lion Safari, Chuka Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve
Stadium– Eklavya Sports Stadium, Late Mohan Choubey Pahalvan Sports Stadium, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Sports stadium , Buddh International Circuit.
