Hyderabad to have all round Metro Rail connectivity, infrastructure for future: CM KCR

The Chief Minister laid the foundation for the Metro Airport connectivity, covering 31 km from Mindspace junction to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad.

Hyderabad: Stressing on the need to expand the Hyderabad Metro services till the Outer Ring Road and BHEL in tune with the State capital region’s growing population, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Friday assured that these Metro expansion works would be taken up by the State Government, even if the Centre did not extend support.

The Chief Minister laid the foundation for the Metro Airport connectivity, covering 31 km from Mindspace junction to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad. The project is being taken up at a cost of Rs. 6250 crore and is completely funded by the State Government.

Addressing a public meeting after the foundation laying ceremony at the Telangana State Police Academy, the Chief Minister said Hyderabad was a historically prominent city. At one point, Hyderabad was geographically bigger than the national capital of New Delhi and in terms of population as well, he said.

Compared to other Metro cities, power supply was introduced first in Hyderabad. Power supply was introduced in Hyderabad in 1912, while in Chennai it was introduced only in 1927, he said.

“Hyderabad was a real cosmopolitan city with people from diverse cultures, different places arrived here and are living peacefully,” the Chief Minister said, extending compliments to the Municipal Administration, GMR and Metro departments. He asked the MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao to prepare an action plan for the future and projects for improving infrastructure in tune with the growing population and assured all support from the State government.

Hyderabad was not prominent only in the past, it continues to be significant in the present times as well, he said. No other city has the advantage Hyderabad has got like the pleasant atmosphere and no scopes for earthquakes, he said.

People from different States and even countries have settled near Gulzar Houz some 300 years ago and this was unique to Hyderabad, he pointed out.

Though, Hyderabad was a prominent city, during to the poor planning and lack of vision by leaders in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, the city lagged behind in development, he said. There was a time, when industries staged protests at Indira Park demanding sufficient power supply, the Chief Minister pointed out.

While people were plagued with severe drinking water crisis in several colonies in the city, the River Krishna and Godavari pipeline works were executed at snail pace, he reminded.

“Hyderabad has now been developed into a power island. It has been synchronized with State Power Grid and National Power grid. Top cities like New York and London could have power cuts but Hyderabad will not have any power cuts,” Chandrashekhar Rao said amid cheers and whistles from the gathering at the venue.

Hyderabad was fast developing on all fronts with international companies setting up their units in the city. Hyderabad now leads in office space absorption and towering high rise structures are muahrooming all around the city. ln tune with the rapid progress, flyovers, underpasses and other structures were being constructed to ease traffic congestion, he said.

The Airport traffic too had increased sharply and keeping up pace with the increasing air traffic, a second runway was being developed at the Shamshabad Airport, he said, adding that Metro connectivity was being extended till the airport and the works would be completed at the earliest, he said.

HMDA and GMR officials presented cheques of Rs.625 crore each to the Chief Minister as part of their 10 percent each share in the Airport Express Metro project.