Giving a major relief to the public, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot inaugurated state-of-the-art underground metro service from Chandpole to Badi Chaupar. With the commencement of e-inauguration, the new line of metro would cater to people coming in from Mansarovar to Badi Chaupar in 26 minutes time.
“The rail project saw a lot of hardships as the Rajasthan Government had to face several challenges like saving archeological structures, environment and not hurting religious sentiments of people. I am thankful to people of the city who supported us and this project is a result of support, dedication & zeal to develop Jaipur as a Smart City,” said Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
An ambitious mass transport system, the Jaipur metro was conceptualised by Ashok Gehlot government a decade ago and the route from Mansarovar to Badi Chaupar was decided as phase 1, divided in phase 1 A from Mansarovar to Chandpole on elevated tracks and underground between Chandpole and Badi Chaupar under Phase 1B. The later phase is considered as an engineering marvel as laying the tunnels had not been an easy task for the officials. The projects sees a level wise development as the first level is of road, below it is a level of covered area that will be Art Gallery, below these two levels would be concourse level (ticketing area) which reaches to another lower level structure which is the operational platform.
The major key challenges faced by the officials were to save heritage importance coming in the immediate vicinity of the project, developing the project in the most populated area of the city, presence of heritage structures present underground and above the ground, change in design to accommodate kund right above the project and availability of very less earth cushion of 4.5 metre under Chandpole gate foundation. After all the efforts, the road restoration work was also done keeping in the mind the ease of commuting.
Operation of the Phase 1 B, is a major milestone for the Jaipur metro as it connects the Walled City area which is the Central Business District of the city. Arrival of the metro would extend a solution to issues of parking and traffic congestion for the visitors. The walled city also holds several monuments and architecture that attract a large number of tourists, the metro is supposed to be a preferred means of commute for such visitors. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot flagged off the train through video conferencing from his residence.
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