Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi/Noida: Delhi Metro crossed into Noida as well as a lot of chaos on Thursday as it was extended beyond the Capital for the first time. Mayawati inaugurated the Noida Metro station and as soon as she left the venue, an unruly crowd ventured on to the tracks and created commotion at the station.
An elated Chief Minister Mayawati announced plans to extend the line to Greater Noida and service the proposed airport and SEZs in the area.
"Our government is trying to extend Metro rail services to the rest of the state, starting with Greater Noida and the remaining parts of Noida. We also want to connect the proposed airport at Javer with the Metro," Mayawati said, elaborating on plans to extend Metro services.
"Thanks to this service, Noida will be counted amongst the world's technically advanced cities and this will impact the development of Noida and Greater Noida," she added.
"Via this media forum, I extend the plea to the central government to approve the (Javer) airport proposal so that the SEZs in this area can be developed," Mayawati said.
The Chief Minister flagged of the Metro from the Noida City Centre station around 3.15 p.m. and travelled aboard it till Noida sector 16 station and back. The Noida City Centre is the last station of the new link from Delhi's Yamuna Bank opened Thursday.
Mayawati said: "Rs.557 crore (Rs 5.57 billion) were given to the Delhi Metro Rail Corp (DMRC) from the state government for the project. I am happy that the Noida authority along with DMRC completed the project in a time-bound manner. And I am thankful to the authorities concerned for the same."
Earlier Thursday, Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit flagged off the new Yamuna Bank-Noida City Centre corridor from the Akshardham Metro station.
The Yamuna Bank-Noida City Centre Metro is an elevated stretch and has 10 stations. It will be integrated with the operational Yamuna Bank to Dwarka Sector-9 segment. The DMRC estimates that 53,000 passengers will be added to its daily number of commuters once the Noida corridor opens to public Friday.
The Noida Metro corridor could bring about a drastic change in the travelling habits of thousands of people in trans-Yamuna areas -- Mayur Vihar and Ashok Nagar in east Delhi and Noida -- and is likely to ease traffic on the Noida Highway as well as at the ITO junction.
Last month the DMRC said it wanted to open the section ahead of the India International Trade Fair, which annually begins Nov 14 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
IANS inputs
First Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 20:36