Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 10 : Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and claimed that Bengaluru will have the second-best metro network after Delhi.
Addressing the 'Next-Gen Mobility for a Next-Gen City' programme after PM Modi inaugurated the Yellow Line of the Bengaluru metro, Khattar said that there are more plans in the pipeline.
"People jokingly say that if someone from Bengaluru drops someone off at the airport, then in the time it takes for that person to reach Delhi or Mumbai, this person from Bengaluru will not be able to reach home. We accepted this challenge under the leadership of the Prime Minister. There are more plans in the pipeline... In the coming years, Bangalore will have the second-best metro network after Delhi," he said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar felicitated PM Narendra Modi during the programme.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Yellow Line from RV Road (Ragigudda) to Bommasandra of the Bangalore Metro.
PM Modi was accompanied by CM Siddaramaiah and Dy CM DK Shivkumar.
The Prime Minister was seen buying a ticket through QR code-enabled ticket vending machines at the Ragigudda metro station before flagging off the Yellow Line of the Namma Metro.
PM Modi, along with CM Siddaramaiah, Dy CM DK Shivkumar, Union Minister Khattar and BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, took the inaugural ride in the Yellow Line metro.
The Yellow Line is part of the Metro Phase-2 project and has a route length of over 19 km with 16 stations. The project is worth around Rs 7,160 crore. With the opening of this yellow line, the operational metro network in Bengaluru will increase to over 96 km, serving a large population in the region.
The Prime Minister is also scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Bengaluru Metro Phase-3 project worth over Rs 15,610 crore. The total route length of the project will be more than 44 km with 31 elevated stations. This infrastructure project will address the growing transportation needs of the city, catering to residential, industrial, commercial and educational areas.
PM Modi will also address the 'Next-Gen Mobility for a Next-Gen City' programme later today.