Kamal Nath lays foundation for 'Bhoj Metro' project in Bhopal

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath laid the foundation for Bhopal's Metro rail project on Thursday. The 'Bhoj Metro has been named after the city's famous ruler 'Raja Bhoj'.

Raja Bhoj was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty. His kingdom was located around the Malwa region in central India. (present-day region of western MP and south-eastern region of Rajasthan)

On naming the Bhopal Metro after Raja Bhoj, MP CM Kamal Nath said, " All the metro projects in other cities take up the name of the city but in Bhopal, the metro project will be called the Bhoj Metro."

The foundation laying ceremony of Bhoj metro saw multiple leaders like, State Ministers Jayawardhan Singh, PC Sharma, Dr. Govind Singh and Former MP Chief Minister Digvijay Singh.

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Congress Party MLA opposes the name

Congress MLA from the state has opposed the Bhopal Metro project being named after Raja Bhoj. In his statement, he said, "We already have several things named after Raja Bhoj, so let the Bhopal Metro be named as Bhopal Metro."

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The Bhoj Metro will cover a stretch of 27.87 kilometers. It will run on two lines in the city. One from AIIMS to Karond and the second one from Bhadbhada to Ratnagiri. The first metro line is expected to get functional from 2022. The Bhoj Metro aims at running a 3 coach train. The frequency of the train is expected to be as one train every 5 minutes with a halt of 30 seconds on the station.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said that all the paperwork and other necessary formalities were completed under his government and just the foundation laying ceremony remained. The Congress and the BJP have been engaging in a rift to take the credit of the metro rail work in Madhya Pradesh.

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