PM Modi inaugurates Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro Line 3 online; Pink Line to run from November 4

Pune's Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro Line 3 was inaugurated on Tuesday, November 3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the inauguration online. The Metro will run from tomorrow, November 4. The "Punneri Metro" (Pink Line), from Maan-Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar, begins passenger service on November 4 and is seen as an important milestone for Pune's public transport system.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, both Deputy Chief Ministers, Sunetra Pawar and Eknath Shinde, MP and Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol, Minister Chandrakant Patil and several MLAs, MPs and leaders were present in Pune for the event. Leaders on the stage also remembered the late Ajit Pawar.

Chief Minister Fadnavis said it was a historic day, as the Metro whose foundation stone had been laid was now being dedicated to the public by Prime Minister Modi. He said Tata and Siemens made an important contribution to completing the project. He said the Hinjewadi area is a big part of the country's IT industry, and lakhs of workers travel there every day and had been waiting eagerly for this line. The Metro will now run on a 100-km route. Metro projects are under way today in twelve cities of Maharashtra. Fadnavis also said that today is not only the dedication of Pune Metro Phase 3, but also the foundation-stone laying for the extension of Phase 2, after which the Metro will be taken to the proposed international airport. He said it was necessary to name Ajit Dada along with himself and Eknath Shinde, and that Sunetra Bhabhi had also contributed.

Sunetra Pawar, president of the Nationalist Congress Party and Deputy Chief Minister, said today should be written in golden letters. She thanked Prime Minister Modi. She said Hinjewadi IT Park is now linked to the Metro and Kharadi IT Park will join the Metro network tomorrow. She said Ajit Dada made an important contribution and had visited Hinjewadi last year to inspect the work. Sunetra Pawar became emotional while speaking. She said many people had initially been saying this Metro project would not be completed, but the project of Ajitdada's dreams had become a reality.

Eknath Shinde, a senior Shiv Sena leader and Deputy Chief Minister, said the day doubles the joy of Punekars and called the project a Diwali gift. He said it was a matter of great happiness that the foundation-stone laying and the dedication coincided. The Metro extension whose foundation stone was laid today will also be dedicated by Modi. Shinde said Ajit Dada had a big share in the development of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad and paid close attention to it. Shinde said Devendraji was Chief Minister first, then he became Chief Minister, and then Devendraji became Chief Minister again. Ajitdada was Deputy Chief Minister then, and kept the stream of development flowing.

Shinde said 50 per cent of the Metro's staff opportunities have gone to women. Not only in the staff, but the Metro's steering is also in women's hands. He said "we men have become a minority", which drew laughter in the hall. Targeting the Uddhav Thackeray government, he said many speed breakers came in the intervening period, as their foot was on the brake while "our foot is on the accelerator and our development is running at high speed". Shinde said patriots feel proud on seeing the country's development, but some people feel pained. He said they oppose development from time to time and create obstacles, and the country's 140 crore people will answer them.

MP and Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol called it a very important milestone for Pune and thanked the government for giving the gift before Diwali. He said the foundation stone for the first phase of the Metro in Pune had been laid by Prime Minister Modi in the presence of Chief Minister Fadnavis. Today the third phase is being inaugurated and the foundation stone for the Metro extension is being laid. According to Mohol, after the inauguration Punekars will be able to travel 55 km, the route whose foundation stone was laid today will add another 46 km, and so a 100-km route will be completed in time. A further 50-km extension will follow. He said previous rulers did only politics, from the lanes to Delhi, while the Mahayuti government thought about Pune's future.

After flagging off the Metro, Prime Minister Modi extended Diwali greetings in Marathi. He said Pune has always given society a new direction and it is this Pune that is propelling Viksit Bharat. Modi said that when a city's development grows, production grows, then momentum towards progress builds, and after that the gulf of poverty narrows. He said that under the old government and the old system, it would have taken several more decades for the Metro to run in Pune. He said that during his government's tenure the Metro runs on a 1,200-km route, and more than one crore people travel by Metro every day in 26 cities. He said the Metro has created lakhs of jobs in Maharashtra, and Metro projects are being built on a PPP model. He also said that earlier there were scams and money got stuck in disputes, while now scheme money reaches everyone's account. He said he completed 25 years in government in the past few days. As Chief Minister, he had resolved to eradicate poverty by bringing the Garib Kalyan Yojana, and he continues on the same policy today.

On farmers, Modi said farmers' contribution to Viksit Bharat is big, but they are in distress today because of drought. He said water conservation schemes have been carried out under Fadnavis's leadership, he is aware of the drought in Maharashtra, and the state government has helped. Addressing farmers in Marathi, he said they should not worry at all, as "we are with the farmers". Modi appealed that people not forget farmers during the festivals and that everyone join hands to help bring them out of their difficulties.