CM invites PM to inaugurate Metro

Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda has invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to inaugurate the commercial operations of “Namma Metro” here.

In a letter to Singh, he said Namma Metro has been authorised to commence commercial operations of the first line from Byappanahalli to Mahatma Gandhi Road Station by the Commissioner of Railway Safety.

“Therefore, Namma Metro is ready for being opened to the public and people of Bangalore are eagerly awaiting its dedication to the nation by your kind self,” Gowda said.

“This will be the first Metro which will be operational in South India,” he said. He requested Singh to indicate an early date convenient to him for the inaugural function. The Chief Minister has sent the letter through Home and Transport Miniser R Ashoka and Special Representative of Karnataka in Delhi V Dhananjaya Kumar to personally meet the Prime Minister and request him to be the chief guest to inaugurate the project. Gowda had invited Singh on August 10 to request him to dedicate Namma Metro to the nation, and the latter had agreed to it.

Gowda had said at the weekend that the much-awaited metro rail could be a ‘Deepavali’ gift to the people of the city, Gowda said on Monday hinting that the project expected to ease traffic congestion in the IT capital of the country.

Gowda told reporters here, the Centre and the Railways had sanctioned the safety certification for the Metro Rail, clearing the decks for the launch of the nine-km long phase I of the Rs 6,000 crore project.

The BJP-led state government has requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to inaugurate the project. “During my first visit to Delhi after becoming the Chief Minister, I called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and requested him to dedicate the metro rail to the nation. We expect a response from the PMO within three or four days indicating a date for the inauguration,” Gowda said.

A senior minister has been entrusted with the task of interacting with the PMO and getting a date for the Prime Minister’s visit, he said.