Gandhinagar Sep 01 :- Stressing the need to modernise transport systems in cities and ensure seamless connectivity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Ahmedabad on Friday that cities like Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara, among others, would drive India’s growth over the next 25 years.
The PM dedicated phase 1 of the Ahmedabad metro project – a 21-km corridor between Thaltej and Vastral on Friday, a modern and fast mode of public transport. The PM also flagged off the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express. He travelled in the Vande Bharat Express from Gandhinagar to Ahmedabad and, in Ahmedabad, on the metro from Kalupr to Doordarshan tower.
Stating that new cities are being built in the country as per global business demand, he also made a pitch for modernising cities as per changing times and called for the creation of twin cities.
“India of the 21st century is going to get new momentum from the cities of the country. Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Bhopal, Indore, Jaipur – these cities will shape the destiny of India in the next 25 years. These investments are not limited to connectivity alone, but smart facilities are being put in place in dozens of cities; basic facilities are being improved and suburbs are being developed,” he said.
“Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad is an excellent example of how a twin city is developed… So far, we have heard about the New York-New Jersey twin cities. Our India cannot lag behind,” Modi said.
Twin cities like Anand-Nadiad, Bharuch-Ankleshwar, Valsad-Vapi, Surat-Navsari, Vadodara-Kalol, Morbi-Vankaner, Mehsana-Kadi will strengthen the identity of Gujarat, he added.
Stating that efficient transport systems will spur rapid growth, Modi said, “There should be seamless connectivity. One mode of transport should support the other. This is necessary.”
Modi urged the Gujarat government to acquaint higher secondary and engineering students with the technology, cost and methodology of construction of the metro so that they stay away from agitations in which public property is destroyed. “Let not the metro only be a mode of travel, let it be a learning experience for our youth. It will give them the assurance that technology is being used for the country’s progress. They will get a sense of ownership of the metro,” the PM said.
Separately, the fully air-conditioned Vande Bharat Express train will offer comfort and facilities to passengers such as sliding doors, personalised reading lights, mobile charging points, attendant call buttons, bio-toilets, automatic entry and exit doors, CCTV cameras, reclining facilities, and the like.
PM’s convoy makes way for ambulance
PM Narendra Modi’s entire convoy aligned on one side of the road en route to Gandhinagar from Ahmedabad on Friday to make way for an ambulance to pass through uninterrupted. Once the ambulance passed the entire length of the convoy, the PM’s bulletproof vehicle and the security cavalcade returned to the middle of the road and resumed their journey.
Guj autowallah says he’s a BJP supporter, invited Kejriwal for meal on union’s wish
A city-based autorickshaw driver who had invited Delhi CM and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal to his house for a meal early in September said he was a BJP supporter and attended PM Modi’s rally in Ahmedabad on Friday. His remarks triggered yet another war of words between the two parties. Donning a BJP cap and wearing a saffron scarf around his neck, Vikram Dantani claimed he had always been a Modi admirer and a BJP supporter. “I have always been with BJP. I invited the AAP leader for a meal to my house because the autorickshaw union asked me to,” he said at the rally venue. AAP state general secretary Manoj Sorathia said Dantani’s presence at the PM’s rally “laid bare BJP’s lies”. “When Dantani invited Kejriwal, BJP alleged that it was stage-managed and that he was an AAP worker. At that time too, we had clarified that Dantani was not a party worker,” Sorathia said.
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