After facing a number of hurdles, including over 200 court cases, the mega Hyderabad metro rail is all set to start rolling. The metro will provide major relief to the city’s commuters, who have been struggling to cope with growing traffic congestion.

Nearly a decade after the metro being conceived, and a little over five years since work commenced, a 30-km stretch will be commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

Though a couple of sections were ready — of 12 km and 8 km length — it was decided to offer services once a longer segment was completed.

The project has overshot its deadline, and is expected to be fully ready (minus the 6 km stretch in the Old City) in 2019. The ₹14,132-crore project also faces a cost overrun of ₹3,500-4,500 crore.

Tortured progress

The Hyderabad metro, which is seen to be transformational, lived through the reign of three Chief Ministers during the Congress regime of 2009-2014 and the TRS Government headed by K Chandrasekar Rao.

There were instances when the progress of the project was threatened due to agitations and moves to change its alignment — a 6 km stretch of the 72 km elevated metro rail is still in the limbo.

But for Hyderabad, which has emerged as one of the fastest growing metropolises in the country, the completion of the project is critical as its urban infrastructure is under severe stress.

To ensure the success of the project across three corridors, last-mile connectivity for commuters will be critical. While efforts are on to make it multi-modal — linking up with buses and also providing bicycles in select stations — a robust last-mile linkage in the catchment areas is crucial.

The metro fare, which was announced late on Saturday, has been the subject of much discussion. The minimum fare has been fixed at ₹10, and the maximum, ₹60. Some believe the base price should have been lower to be more inclusive.

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