Demand for metro link between Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar grows

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Calls for a metro rail service between Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar are gathering momentum, with stakeholders arguing that improved connectivity between the two industrial hubs could significantly accelerate regional development.Located about 55 km apart, the two cities are emerging as key economic centres of Marathwada, driven by industrial growth, infrastructure projects and expanding employment opportunities. "The metro service connecting Jalna to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and also covering the industrial nodes of Shendra-Bidkin-Waluj is the need of the hour. Every day, thousands of citizens-particularly workers employed in the Waluj, Shendra and Bidkin industrial estates, as well as businesspeople and students - commute along this route," said advocate Mahesh Dhannawat, former vice-president of the Jalna District Bar Association.Jalna, already recognised as a major steel manufacturing hub, is poised for further growth with the upcoming Dry Port project and improved connectivity through the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway."The employment generation will receive a major boost due to the metro rail service between Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar can be easily predicted as 'twin cities' having a common geographical corridor," entrepreneur Suhas Joshi said.

The proposal has found support not only among residents and industry representatives but also within administrative circles. Several senior bureaucrats have reportedly underscored the need for a mass rapid transit system linking the two districts."The elected representatives from both the districts have to join hands for starting a metro rail service between Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The project will be a game changer in a true sense," a senior government official said on condition of anonymity.The state budget last year approved an elevated corridor project from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Airport to Waluj MIDC in two phases. Stakeholders are now demanding that the project be extended to facilitate a metro rail corridor connecting Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Jalna.Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar guardian minister Sanjay Shirsat could not be reached for comment. An email sent to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways remained unanswered till Sunday evening.