- A dream of having a rail metro in Chandigarh may not get fulfilled now. After the eleven years of hard – work and patience, the project of running a metro in the Chandigarh has been sealed by the Home Minister’s Advisory Committee. According to them, the project is not commercially viable for the city. According to the sources, around eleven crores were spent on a study and survey of this most awaited metro project. But in the end, it seems like it was all sheer waste of time and money.
A meeting minute of the committee held on July 27 in Delhi under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The other members who attended this meeting were Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Bandore. In the meeting, it was concluded that the matter had been deliberated upon at length and it was decided that the Metro project for Chandigarh was not commercially viable.
According to the sources, there was a difference of opinion between Sanjay Tandon, city BJP president, and Kirron Kher, Member of Parliament, at the meeting, over the issue. While Tandon was in the favour of the Metro, Kher termed the project unviable for the small cities as a huge amount is required to accomplish this project. She emphasized on the improvement of the other public transports.
According to Kirron Kher, the metro is not required in the city as it would not give much benefits to the residents. The better option is to improve the other modes of transports. She added. On the other hand, Tandon said the city will have to take a decision keeping in mind the traffic congestion that would increase on roads in the next 20 years.
Some dreams may never get fulfilled but at the same time, we should never forget that whatever happens, happens for something good. A hope is a good thing and we should never lose it. In the end, let’s hope for the development and betterment of the city, may be in some other way.