WILL NOT BACK DOWN ON QUOTA DEMAND FOR MARATHAS: PATIL

WILL NOT BACK DOWN ON QUOTA DEMAND FOR MARATHAS: PATIL

- Saptarshi Das

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off a 17km stretch of India's first regional rapid transit system (RRTS) in Ghaziabad, underlining his government's commitment to improve the standard of living of citizens by bolstering the public transport system and hailing the country's developmental progress on land, air and sea.

In a 40-minute speech delivered shortly after he flagged and took a ride in the Namo Bharat train connecting Sahibabad and Duhai Depot stations, Modi cited the successful G20 Summit, the historic touchdown of Chandrayaan-3 near the lunar south pole, and the impressive haul of medals at the Asian Games to say that India was writing a new saga of progress in every sector.

"Today is a historic day for India as the first rapid rail service has begun... Four years back, I laid the foundation stone of the project. Today, the services of Namo Bharat have started on the stretch from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot. I just want to say that we inaugurate the same projects that we lay the foundation stone for. And when this Meerut stretch is completed after a year or a year and a half, I will be there at your service," Modi said, indicating that his government will be re-elected in 2024.

The RRTS priority corridor, comprising five stations, will open to the public on Saturday at 6am. The project in its entiretyan 82km corridor - will connect Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut, and is slated to open in 2025.

Built at a cost of 30,000 crore, RRTS is expected to cut the travel time between Delhi and Meerut to an hour, using trains that can zip at a top speed of 180kmph.