Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday flagged off the much-awaited Phase 1 of Metro Line 2A and 7 between Dahanukarwadi and Aarey. Speaking on the occasion, Thackeray slammed the BJP-led Centre and also criticised the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, questioning its use. "There is one project called bullet train and they are insisting on it. They have taken the most precious and costly plot in BKC for the project, where we were building a financial centre. Okay, but what is the use of this bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad?” he asked. He added, “If you wanted to have the first bullet train in Maharashtra, then it should have been between Mumbai and Nagpur, as it would have been benefitted the state.” Thackeray flagged off the 20-km stretch of Metro Line 2A and Line 7 around 4.30 pm in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde, Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray and Textiles Minister Aslam Sheikh, among others. Later, Thackeray and the others took a Metro ride from Aarey-Kurar-Aarey. He also addressed the gathering at St Pius Ground, next to the Aarey Metro station. Leaders from Opposition BJP were not present at the inauguration, as former CM Devendra Fadnavis was not invited to the ceremony. Several other leaders from BJP – Leader of opposition in Legislative Council, Pravin Darekar, and Union Minister Kapil Patil among others – were invited but chose to stay away. Later in the day, Fadnavis told mediapersons, “The MVA government has not invited me or BJP leaders for the inauguration of the two Metro lines. It does not matter. People of Maharashtra know our efforts for the project. It was during our regime that the Metro network got an impetus. We planned and executed the project.” Thackeray, however, slammed BJP leaders for alleging that MVA government was taking credit for their work. He said that if they (BJP) love Mumbai then that it should reflect in their work and not only in their talks. “People are watching, what we are doing and what they (BJP) are doing. They say that they are working and Mumbaikars are watching. Yes, Mumbaikars are watching and they saw how overnight, hundreds of trees were hacked (at Aarey car shed site). People have kept that in mind. They are only in hurry. They will do everything in haste just to claim that they have done it, even if it is a disaster. We will not do that and while doing development works, we will ensure that the environment is not damaged. Environmentally balanced development is our priority," the CM added. Thackeray further said that he was willing to give credit of this Metro and of other works to the BJP, but asked why some key projects are stuck at the level of the Union government. “Several projects are stuck with the Centre, why don't you do that project for Mumbai? Why don't you resolve the issues relating to those stalled projects,” he asked. As the service opened for the public at 8 pm, thousands thronged for the first Metro ride from Aarey to Dahanukarwadi. As it was the inaugural day, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) had kept travel free for the commuters. Around 20,000 people traveled on the first day. The services were open between 8 pm and 9.30 pm. A train got stuck for 15-20 minutes at Dahisar station due to technical glitch. Rahul Paranjape, who came with his wife and other family members to take ride, said, "Since it was holiday, we planned to come for a ride and be among those who were part of the first trip. We were even more delighted when we got to know that the ride was free of cost.” Ramesh Sutar, who came with a group of friends from Dahisar, said, “We stay in Dahisar and were really excited about this Metro as it comes till our home. We had decided that whenever the services start, we will take the first ride. We took the first train from Dahisar and came till Aarey station. Now, we will go to Dahisar again.”
