Patna: Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee’s chief spokesperson Rajesh Rathore on Thursday slammed the state govt for the slow progress of the Patna Metro Rail project, saying that at the current pace, its completion would take an unreasonably long time.He alleged that the NDA govt in Bihar hastily inaugurated a 3-km stretch of the metro ahead of elections, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then CM Nitish Kumar, but services have not expanded beyond that section so far.Questioning the state govt, Rathore said that while CM Samrat Choudhary has been urging people to use the metro amid rising fuel prices, the public is still awaiting wider operational coverage.He asked whether the delay was due to a shortage of funds or administrative inefficiencies, and suggested that experienced project managers be brought to expedite the work. Drawing a comparison with the Delhi Metro, he said while Delhi’s metro was completed on time or even before, in Patna the project remains stuck in the limbo. He further said timely execution is the need for better planning and coordination in Patna.Rathore further claimed that the project has not progressed as expected and alleged that financial constraints were affecting its pace. He also referred to reported operational earnings of Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 per day against higher daily expenditure.He urged the Prime Minister to review the project, ensure release of required funds and facilitate its timely completion, while also reiterating concerns about delays in fulfilling infrastructure commitments in the state.
