Ambedkar memorial: PM Modi takes metro to attend event

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took a ride in a Delhi Metro train to reach the venue of an event in north Delhi's Civil Lines area.

Modi boarded the train at the Lok Kalyan Marg metro station to participate in the event, where he inaugurated the Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial at 26, Alipur Road, on the eve of the Dalit icon's birth anniversary.

Some commuters were seen taking pictures with the prime minister inside a coach in which he travelled.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi today travelled by Delhi Metro from Lok Kalyan Marg station to Vidhan Sabha station of Line-2 (Yellow Line) from 5:41 pm to 6:01 pm," a senior DMRC official said.

During his travel, services were running normal on Line-2 as per the normal schedule, he said.

26, Alipur Road is the place where Ambedkar lived in his last days and died in 1956.

The Prime Minister's Office shared pictures of the new memorial through a series of tweets.

"This is the place where Dr. Ambedkar attained Mahaparinirvana on 6th December 1956," the PMO tweeted.

"Prime Minister @narendramodi had laid the foundation stone of the memorial on March 21, 2016. The memorial of Babasaheb Ambedkar, the creator of the Constitution of India has been given the shape of a book," it said.

An Ashokan Pillar stands in front of the book-shaped building in the sprawling premises. Iconic gates, Bodhhi tree, musical fountain and a meditation room are its other features.

"This memorial will serve as one of the vital focal points that will bring Dr. Ambedkar even closer to today's younger generation," the PMO tweeted.

"Dr. Ambedkar Mahaparinirvana Sthal at 26, Alipur Road, was dedicated to the Nation by former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in December 2003," it said.

Prior to this Modi had travelled by Delhi Metro on the day of inauguration of a corridor of the Magenta Line on December 25 last year.

In April 2017, Modi along with his Australian counterpart Malcom Turnbull had travelled by metro to reach Akshardham station, before visiting the temple.