Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to Pune district, scheduled for November 3, has been deferred, leaving the inauguration of the long-delayed Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro Line 3 uncertain. November 16 is being considered as a possible revised date, but there is no official confirmation of the visit or the inauguration programme.
Modi was scheduled to visit Baramati to inaugurate Prerna Sthal, a memorial on the premises of Vidya Pratishthan, an educational institution headed by Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar. The memorial features a statue of Lord Buddha and exhibits on other prominent personalities.
Yugendra Pawar, Sharad Pawar’s grandnephew and a trustee of Vidya Pratishthan, confirmed on Thursday that the visit had been deferred. He said November 16 was a likely date but added that the institution had received no official communication confirming the revised schedule.
The postponement has also cast uncertainty over the inauguration of the 23-km Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro Line 3, which will connect Pune’s IT hub with the city centre.
Officials of the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA), which is implementing the project through a public-private partnership, did not respond to queries.
Initially scheduled for completion in March 2025, the project has missed several deadlines due to construction delays and the clearance process. The first 12-km section received provisional clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) in July. So far, 17 of the line’s 23 stations have received clearance.
{{/usCountry}}Initially scheduled for completion in March 2025, the project has missed several deadlines due to construction delays and the clearance process. The first 12-km section received provisional clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) in July. So far, 17 of the line’s 23 stations have received clearance.
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