NEW DELHI:
Tejasvi Surya, the Member of Parliament for Bengaluru South, held a meeting with Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, on Monday. During the meeting, Surya requested administrative support from the Minister for the upcoming Metro projects in Bengaluru.
Taking to ‘X’ to share the news, Surya stated, “Time to rejoice opening of Purple Line, but no time to relax on Yellow Line. Today I met Union Housing & Urban Affairs minister Sri @HardeepSPuri & requested, visa support for CRRC engineers’ visit to India to finalise prototype of Yellow Line Metro coach, appointment of full time MD for BMRCL and visit to Bengaluru to inspect progress of Phase 2A, 2B of metro (Silk Board to KR Puram & then Airport). PS – Gifted him some fresh Mysorepak as a token of gratitude from Bengaluru for opening the full extension of Purple Line of Metro.”
Surya submitted a representation to the Minister regarding the visa clearances for CRRC Engineers. Explaining the situation, Surya said, “In 2019, CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd was awarded the contract to supply 216 metro coaches, with their domestic production partners Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd manufacturing 75% of the coaches under the Make In India scheme.
“CRRC is preparing to send a metro car body to Titagarh in order to support its domestic manufacturing efforts. However, the prototype for the rolling stock has not yet been finalized. It is understood that CRRC Engineers need to personally visit Titagarh Rail Systems’ production facility to finalize the prototype. Currently, CRRC is awaiting visa clearance for their engineers to travel from China to India and complete the rolling stock prototype for the metro.
“To ensure the timely completion of the Yellow Line of the metro, I kindly request your support in expediting the visa process for the CRRC Engineers.”
Time to rejoice opening of Purple Line, but no time to relax on Yellow Line.
— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) October 9, 2023
Today I met Union Housing & Urban Affairs Minister Sri @HardeepSPuri & requested the following:
1. Visa support for CRRC engineers’ visit to India to finalise prototype of Yellow Line Metro coach &… pic.twitter.com/fxQrzUmjzt
Surya also emphasized the need for a full-time Managing Director (MD) to be appointed for the BMRCL. In his letter to Puri, Surya stated, “One of the main reasons for the delay in Metro projects is the absence of a full-time MD in the BMRCL organization. The current MD also holds additional responsibilities in other State Government Departments, which prevents him from fully dedicating his attention to completing the already-delayed projects of BMRCL.
“I urge you to explore administrative solutions to reduce project delays in the BMRCL, including the appointment of a full-time MD for the organization.”
During their meeting, Surya extended an invitation to the Minister to inspect the progress of Phase 2A and 2B (Silk Board to KR Puram; KR Puram to Airport) of the Metro. The Minister assured Surya that he would make time to visit Bengaluru.”
