 "Metro")
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chief Vikas Kumar on Friday visited the Bihar capital to review the progress of the Patna Metro project, which is being executed by the DMRC, officials said.
Patna Metro is currently under construction in the old city, a flagship project whose foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 17, 2019.
DMRC's Managing Director Vikas Kumar "visited Patna to review the progress of Patna Metro Rail Project and also met officials of the PMRC (Patna Metro Rail Corporation), senior officials told PTI.
It was his first visit to the PMRC site since he took charge as the new DMRC chief. Kumar, a 1988-batch officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service, on April 1 had assumed charge as the new managing director of the urban transporter.
"Kumar had a meeting with Anand Kishor, Principal Secretary-cum-MD/PMRCL, in which various critical issues related to Patna Metro works, such as acquisition of private land mainly of depot land, JICA fund tie-up, and fund-related issues were discussed," the official said.
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Kishor informed him that all the land acquisition matters are in an "advance stage".
For Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) fund tie-up, PMRCL informed that regular meetings and discussions are in progress with JICA Study Group and fund tie-up is also in an "advance stage and likely to be signed by March 2023". He also emphasised to expedite the work of underground section, they said.
The DMRC chief visited sites of the project, including one "near a museum," the official added.
The 31 km-long Patna Metro rail project, comprising the Danapur-Mithapur-Khemni Chak corridor (Line-1) and Patna Railway Station-Pataliputra Bus Terminal corridor (Line-2), is expected to benefit over a million passengers from the Bihar capital and will also reduce the number of vehicles and ease congestion, the DMRC had earlier said.
DMRC is working on the Patna Metro project, which is aimed at decongesting the city using a mass rapid transit network for the first time.
Officials recently had said that as part of the PMRC project, two depots were initially planned, however, now, only one depot near Pataliputra Bus facility, will be built.
Patna Metro's planned station at PMCH, originally proposed to be built on an elevated structure, will now be constructed underground, and two gates for exit or entry would be located inside the campus of the institution which is undergoing a major infrastructure revamp, officials had said early April.
Situated on the banks of Ganga, Patna is a historic city, which was the site of the ancient capital of Pataliputra of the great Mauryan Empire. The city is dotted with iconic landmarks and heritage sites from Mughal period to British era.
Railways had arrived in Patna in 1860s during the British rule, and prior to that river and roads were the prime means of transportation.
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