KOCHI: As the Kochi Metro celebrated the fifth anniversary of its launch, the trains on the public transport system witnessed a heavy rush on Friday. As part of the celebrations, the metro authorities had offered commuters the opportunity to travel anywhere with a ticket costing just Rs 5. And the move proved popular, with a total of 1,11,230 people travelling on the metro on Friday.
Offering a fun ride filled with laughter and jokes, a special train service was also conducted for the differently-abled children from various schools and the inmates of Mercy Home, Kacheripady. Around 250 children, along with their teachers and parents, took the ride. Kochi Metro managing director Loknath Behera and ace shooter Elizabeth Susan Koshy, besides other officials, accompanied them on the special train operated from Muttom to Thykoodam. The children sang and danced throughout the journey. The fun ride was organised by the Centre for Empowerment and Enrichment. Adding to the fun, the children sang the birthday song to Behera.
“The parents stepped in to correct them, explaining that it is the Kochi Metro’s birthday and not the officer’s. But they continued with their song,” said Mary Anitha, chairman and founder, Centre for Empowerment and Enrichment. The ‘birthday lunch’ was organised at Mercy Home where the officials had food with the inmates. The IMA Hall formed the venue for discussions on future initiatives for the further development of the Kochi Metro.
Top officials, employees and people’s representatives attended the deliberations. In a video message, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said Kochi will witness a public transport facility as yet unfamiliar when the Water Metro too becomes operational. “One-ticket facility with which the commuters will be able to travel in train, boat, bus and autos should be brought out by KMRL,” he said.
Behera said that by improving the connectivity along the stretches to High Court, Marine Drive, Infopark and Tripunithura, travel through the city will become easier. And that will drive Kochi to greater development, he added. While the Kochi Metro’s growth is slow, it will have the support of the people’s representatives and the public to increase the pace of development, said Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden.“It is not just about Kochi Metro’s growth. The KMRL too has grown as a corporate in these five years,” he said. District Collector Jafar Malik, Mayor M Anilkumar, MLA T J Vinod and GCDA chairman K Chandran Pillai were among those who took part in the programme organised by KMRL at the IMA Hall.