2010 will be an interesting year for Delhi.
There is a beeline of different infrastructure related projects completing next year before Commonwealth Games in Oct 2010 – that includes Delhi metro, Upgraded Airport, New set of Flyovers, New set of hotels etc.
And then hopefully the year will end with graceful hosting of commonwealth games. (although I am still concerned about our preparedness and security concerns – with so much threats coming from various militant groups) … But I am more than hopeful that we will be able to pull it through with elegance and by the end of 2010 we will have an event which the world will remember and will have a Delhi which will be much different from what we have now.
Although I am sitting miles away from all this, but I feel as excited about them and am particularly excited about the Delhi Metro project.
One reason for this could be that I have been following the progress of Delhi Metro half of my life 🙂 – if I may say so. 🙂
The construction work of Delhi Metro was started 10 years back (around 1999), and has been planned in various phases. Currently we are in phase II of IV. Details can be read here.
But I have been following the progress of Delhi Metro even before the construction was started. I can still somewhat remember the news articles around 1995 in daily newspapers (TOI / HT) where it used to mention the project plans of Delhi Metro – with detailed maps of how it will be – and we all used to be all so dreamy still skeptical about all that.
At that time, the project was in very nascent / planning phase and I guess was getting clearance from the red tapes at various level of Government.
Flash Forward to Today – it was heartening to see the opening of Noida Line Today Morning.
Scripting yet another chapter in its history, the Delhi Metro today crossed the capital for the first time as a brand new train chugged into Noida.The Metro’s move into the satellite township of Delhi is expected to bring a paradigm shift in the travelling habits of people in the National Capital Region.The 13.1 km Yamuna Bank-Noida line was inaugurated by Union urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy in the presence of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and DMRC managing director E Sreedharan at the newly-built Akshardham station.
It brought back all those memories –
Those news articles in 1995 about project plan and the related skepticism and dreams.
Those thousand of articles we have read during last 10 years about the progress of Delhi Metro.
Last but not the least – the recent most “real” memories I have is from last year when I was in India and me and my wife used to drive from home to office watching the construction work in Noida in progress … the line which opened today.
And then, equally exciting is to read lineup for scheduled opening next year.
The opening of the Noida line marks the beginning of Phase II of Metro getting operational. Now, a new Metro line will open almost every month till the Commonwealth Games.
Aaaaaaah! … those lines are music to my ears.
So it is very obvious that I will definitely keep following all this progress – this is truly history in making and I dont want to miss anything. I dont even want to blink from now till end of 2010.
Lastly, it is probably human nature for me to wait for the line nearest to my place to get completed – that is the “Violet Line” connecting to my neighborhood in south delhi – Badarpur 😀
In June 2010, the 4.91km stretch on the Badarpur line from Sarita Vihar to Badarpur will be commissioned. The rest of the Badarpur line (15.25 km) connecting Sarita Vihar to Central Secretariat will open in September 2010.
So, once again … Congratulations to all my fellow delhites … and best wishes for 2010.
PS – the image source of Delhi Metro with Giant Statue of Hanuman is HINDU’s website
This image of the Delhi Metro running against the backdrop of a tall idol of Hanuman has come to be identified as Delhi’s defining picture in the recent years. It is often cited as the point of confluence of Tradition and Development in the Urban Area. Photo: V. V. Krishnan