Modi-Hollande ride to Gurgaon hits Yellow Line

French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took a specially-arranged Metro train as they travelled to and returned from Gurgaon to attend an event, affecting passenger movement for a few hours in the afternoon.

The “eco-friendly” ride on Metro’s Line 2 (Yellow Line), Mr Modi said, was meant to send out a message on ways to fight global warming.

The two leaders boarded the Metro at Race Course station at 3.16 pm and travelled till Arjangarh station, located on Delhi’s border with Haryana and around 14 km from the event venue, National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Gurgaon.

“A special train was arranged to facilitate movement of PM and French President in close coordination with security agencies today,” Metro chief spokesperson Anuj Dayal said.

The ride till Arjangarh lasted for around 30 minutes, according to French President’s official Twitter handle @Elysee. Prime Minister Modi’s official Twitter handle @PMOIndia posted pictures of the journey.

During the period of ride, hordes of commuters could be seen stranded outside stations. Frisking has been already strengthened in view of Republic Day celebrations, leading to long queues. Entry of passengers in stations along the corridor, including INA, AIIMS, Hauz Khas, Chhattarpur, were restricted owing to security considerations as per police directions during the VIP movement, a Metro official said.

Mr Modi and Mr Hollande, accompanied by DMRC chief Mangu Singh and a bevy of security personnel, took the ‘point-to-point’ Metro that did not stop at any station, back to Jor Bagh station from Gurgaon.