Move over the Old World Charm of the tonga, Lucknow now is getting chic by the day. While the Lucknow Metro is all geared up to start rolling, it is to make people feel the changing times.
Lucknow is a city of myriad colours and hues, and it has over the years evolved as a modern city with everything that can give stiff competition to the Metropolitan cities and their modern ways.
From the tongas in the old city area to now the Metro, Wajid Ali Shah’s Awadh is now rearing to move on the fast lane.
A story goes in Lucknow, on a fine morning in 1950s, two nawabs from the old city were on their buggies to move towards the university. They met at a cross section and could not reach their destination, as each wanted the other to move first, exemplifying the Pehle Aap culture of the old days. With changing times Lucknow is now gearing up to see a transition from what is called Pehle Aap to Hum Sab, courtesy the Lucknow Metro.
The dream project of the Akhilesh Yadav regime had been given a go ahead by the Modi government.
The philosophy of ‘ham sab’ emanates from the definition of Mass Rapid Transit System of which metro rail is an example. A mode of transport carrying lakhs of people together in one point of time which has a social purpose and meaning,” says a senior officer in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to a newspaper.
Members of the old school and heritage enthusiasts in specific tell local media in Lucknow that one hopes that with the change, the old world charm is not killed.
Interestingly people in the know of the changing times believe that if one continues to follow the policy of Pehle Aap then one is sure to miss the bus.
On June 27, 2013, the state government had given its formal nod to the proposed LMRC project.
Metro and ts official rolling out saw a major deadlock with which was broken at a meeting of then MoUD secretary Madhusudan Prasad with then principle secretary, housing, town and urban planning department of UP, Sada Kant and MD LMRC.
The MoUD notably has earmarked Rs. 83,000 crore and is considering project funding for metro rail system in nine cities including Lucknow Metro Rail.
Work on the Lucknow Metro Rail commenced in September 2014 following an approval in principle by the central government.
The Public Investment Board in the Finance Ministry gave the final clearance to the 23 km long Metro Project at an estimated cost of over Rs 69,00 crore.
For ex Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav the Lucknow Metro Rail and IT City projects were major projects for him to give ‘Brand UP’ that much needed push amongst the investor community.
From the Nawabi era to post independence and now the 21st century, Lucknow boasts of a uniqueness that it offers.
In the Nawabi era there were royals who either rode a horse or commuted through palanquins. Commoners depended on dolis.
It was the British who introduced buggies, victorias and phaetons for the classes while dolis remained popular among commoners.
In Pre-Independence India, tongas were introduced for the masses. Something that has survived the tests of times in old Lucknow. Cycles were launched too which became popular.
After Independence, cycle-rickshaws came up while the well-to-do replaced their buggies with cars. In 1960s, a few people in the city had scooters but they became a choiced transport in the 1970s. It was only in the 80s that Vikram came into existence.
In the 1990s, city buses were introduced by the UP State Road Transport Corporation. Battery and CNG operated auto-three-wheelers came to the city in 2005 while motorised rickshaws followed later. It was only recently that the e rickshaw has come into existence and Lucknow waits for the Metro.
According to the 2011 census, Lucknow is home to 28 Lakh people but the city has only 7,000 public transport vehicles. It has 260 buses plying on only eight routes. Tempos can ply only on the 49 sanctioned routes, auto-rickshaws have the permit to operate all over the city.
The car share of public transport in Lucknow is 6% while that of two-wheelers is 62.7%. ‘Metroman’ E Sreedharan is quoted as saying that metro services, once provided, would help cut traffic congestion by 35-40 %..
The total project envisaged in phases is estimated at Rs 16,000 crore, to be funded in a 50:50 ratio by the Centre and Uttar Pradesh on the lines of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
Multiple modes of public transport are available such as taxis, city buses, cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws and compressed natural gas (CNG) low floor buses with and without air conditioning. Radio Taxis which are a relatively new phenomenon in the city, has brands like Flashcab , MyCab and Uber, Ola cabs active in the city.
The Metro on the other hand is divided into two corridors with the North-South corridor connecting Munshipulia to CCS International Airport and the East-West corridor connecting Charbagh Railway Station to Vasant Kunj.
So I leave you with a song which sums up Lucknow in a brilliant way in these changing times.
ye lakhnau ki sar zami ye lakhnau ki sar zami, ye lakhnau ki sar zami ye lakhnau ki sar zami, ye lakhnau ki sar zami ye rang roop ka chaman ye husn-o-ishq ka vatan yahi to vo mukaam hai jaha avadh ki shaam hai jawa jawa hasi hasi ye lakhnau ki sar zami ye lakhnau ki sar zami
shabaab-o-sher ka ye ghar ye ahal-e-ilm ka nagar hai manzilo ki god me yaha har ek rahguzar ye shahar laaldaar hai yaha dilo me pyar hai jidhar nazar uthaaiye bahaar hi bahaar hai kali kali hai naazani ye lakhnau ki sar zami, ye lakhnau ki sar zami
yaha ki sab ravaayate adab ki shaahakaar hai ameer ahl-e-dil yaha gareeb jaa nisaar hai har ek shaak par yaha hai bulbulo ki chah chahe gali gali me zindagi kadam kadam pe kah kahe har ik nazaara hai dilnashi ye lakhnau ki sar zami, ye lakhnau ki sar zami
yaha ke dost bawafa, mohabbato se aashna kisike ho gaye agar rahe usike umr bhar nibhayi apni aan bhi, badhayi dil ki shaan bhi hai aisa meharbaan bhi kaho to de de jaan bhi jo dosti ka ho yakin ye lakhnau ki sar zami, ye lakhnau ki sar zami ye lakhnau ki sar zami, ye lakhnau ki sar zami
ye lakhnau ki sar zami
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