The Jaipur Metro being inaugurated (Purushottam Diwakar/India Today Group/Getty Images)A new reason for the lack of ridership on the Rs 3,149 crore Metro rail project serving Rajasthan’s capital Jaipur may have emerged. Inaugurated for commercial operations on 3 June 2015, the 10 km long Metro system has a reported daily ridership of of 17,000 passengers.
A report by DNA says that the Jaipur Metro might have been built on the premise of inflated numbers. The original detailed project report (DPR), prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was based on the estimate that Jaipur’s population would reach 92 lakh by 2031. On the basis of this report, Jaipur got a go ahead from both the Ashok Gehlot-led state government and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre in 2010.
However, the population estimate has now been revised by almost 50 per cent. The Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Limited’s (JMRCL) latest comprehensive mobility plan has estimated that the city’s population by 2031 would not exceed 52 lakh, a good 44 per cent lower than the original estimate.
Officials of the JMRCL are however still in favour of the city having a medium-scale rapid transit system.
The population estimates have been revised yet the per day passenger load estimates have been close to previous estimates. Even the latest survey suggests the need for another medium-metro corridor from Sitapura to VKI,” says director project.JMRCL director Ashwani Saxena
The latest survey now throws questions based on the original DPR and raises questions on whether a full-fledged metro system is feasible for the Pink City or not.
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