Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Line 3 of Pune Metro, known as the Pink Line, which runs from Maan to District Court via the Hinjewadi IT hub. According to The Times of India, Modi addressed the gathering virtually during the event in Pune.
What the new line offers
According to The Times of India, the Pink Line will provide better connectivity to one of Pune's largest IT hubs. The publisher also reports that further expansion would strengthen links between the older and newer parts of the city, as Modi stated.
Modi also highlighted the public-private partnership (PPP) model used for the Pink Line, which he described as an example of collaboration between the government and the private sector to speed up infrastructure development.
Attendance at the inaugural function
According to The Times of India, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, and Union Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol attended the function in Pune. MPs and MLAs from Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, along with senior officials, were also present. Maha Metro managing director Shravan Hardikar and Pune IT City Metro Rail Ltd CEO Anil Kumar Saini were among the officials named.
National and state figures cited
Modi said the national Metro network had grown from 248 km in 2014 to around 1,200 km now, with services in 26 cities, up from five in 2014. He said more than one crore passengers travel by Metro every day. For Maharashtra, he said about 200 km are operational today, while work on more than 680 km is underway. These figures are the statements made by the Prime Minister at the event, as reported by The Times of India.
Context from the speech
Modi said Metro projects can reduce travel time and raise productivity, and he described Pune as an important centre for IT, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, startups, innovation and manufacturing. According to The Times of India, he said the expanding network would support the city's economic growth.