Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday flagged off the Noida City Centre-Noida Electronic City section of the Delhi Metro’s Blue Line. The 6.6-km Noida City Centre-Noida Electronic City section was thrown open to the public after it recently got the necessary safety approval from the Metro Rail Safety Commissioner. The fully elevated section between Noida City Centre and Noida Electronic City consists of six stations – Sector 34, Sector 52, Sector 61, Sector 59, Sector 62 and Noida Electronic City. The metro stretch will benefit the people of Noida a great deal as well as connect the satellite city to Delhi.

This extended stretch will bring the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) Blue Line closer to the Noida Metro Rail Corporation’s (NMRC) Aqua Line that connects Noida and Greater Noida. Section 52 of the DMRC’s Blue Line is very close to the NMRC’s Section 51 station on the Aqua Line. During his public rally, Modi said: “Today India has reached the number two spot in terms of making mobile phones. Before 2014, there were only two factories in India but today around 125 factories are making mobile phones in India. Of these, a large of number of such factories is in Noida only. Apart from mobile phones, factories of TVs, refrigerators, etc, are also set up here,” said PM Modi.

Facilitating last-mile connectivity between the two lines, authorities are planning to connect the two stations. There is a distance of around 300 metres between Sector 51 metro station in the Aqua Line and Sector 52 station in the Blue Line. There is likely to be a dedicated pathway between the two stations as well as a carriage-way for e-rickshaws, officials said.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of two thermal Power Plants. One of them is 1,320 MW Super Thermal Power Project at Khurja in Bulandshahar. The power project will be based on supercritical technology with two units of capacity 660 MW each equipped with the latest emission control technology to protect the environment. The plant has high efficiency and uses less fuel to generate power. A government statement said the Khurja plant will transform the power deficit situation of the northern region, particularly Uttar Pradesh and will benefit Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. PM Modi also launched the 1,320 MW thermal power plant at Buxar in Bihar through video conferencing.