Kochi: Encouraged by wide response for myriad theme-based decorations of stations in the first reach, the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) has handpicked themes for all five stations to be soon opened to public that include the state’s sporting heritage and the city’s evolution history among others. A visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium station, first of the stations in the five-km Palarivattom-Maharajas’ College section to get ready, will aptly give a visual treat on the state’s rich sporting Heritage like ‘kalaripayattu’.
“The station is at the entrance of the JLN stadium that already hosted many International cricket matches and football tournaments and is going to be the one venue of the upcoming U-17 FIFA World Cup. Hence the theme,” said a Kochi Metro spokesperson. The Kaloor metro station will be designed with the theme “Monsoon, Waterfall & Water Bodies”, capturing the aesthetic beauty of luscious waterfalls and green mountains of Western Ghats. Lissie, the 14th station from Aluva, will be designed with the specified theme Dragonflies & butterflies of Western Ghats
“MG Road is one among the six major metro stations that has been assigned with a specified theme -- “Ernakulam and its History”. MG Road itself was the commercial high street of Kochi from centuries back,” the official said. Maharaja's Ground, the last station, will be developed on the theme ‘endangered species and mammals of Western Ghats’. “The theme works will begin as soon as the stations will be handed over to us by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The basic infrastructure facilities like counters, lifts and escalators will be finished before October three, when the reach is slated to be launched for metro commercial operation. However, the thematic works will be done simultaneously while catering to commuter traffic,” the official said.
