Chennai: The first phase of the much-awaited Chennai metro rail (CMRL) connecting Koyambedu and St Thomas Mount will be completed by next month as more than 95 per cent of the work is complete, a top CMRL official told DC. However, top brass of the CMRL are unwilling to put a date for the inaugural of the prestigious project as clearances from the railway board and the commissioner of railway safety is pending.
The issue is also complicated as the state has to give its consensus for the inaugural. With the Radha Krishnan Nagar Assembly constituency in north Chennai going to bypolls on June 27, the model code of conduct has come into force in Chennai.
Central beautification: Meanwhile, the CMRL, which had proposed to beautify the Chennai Central railway station premises with new escalators, landscape and arriving points, has finalised a detailed project report at an estimate of Rs 400 crore. After examining this, the Southern Railway will issue a no-objection certificate and will render its expertise and co-ordination wherever required, Southern Railway general manager Ashok K. Agarwal said.
