Hyderabad: It will be at least a year until parking facilities and feeder services for the soon-to-be-inaugurated 30 km stretch of Metro Rail line are fully functional, according to minister K.T. Rama Rao.

He was speaking after inspecting Metro Rail works at the Oliphanta Bridge in Secunderabad on Thursday.

The Metro Rail stations, which are likely to be inaugurated in November, have no parking facilities, feeder services or other amenities that are essential for smooth operation. Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd. plans to develop parking facilities at 34 of the 64 stations.

Mr Rao said, “These services will not be available as soon as Metro Rail services are launched. It will take some time for them to be developed.”

He said the government was in the process of formulating a parking policy with the GHMC which would include parking facilities for Metro Rail users as well. “We do not want people to use their individual vehicles and cause traffic jams,” he said.

Security features are also yet to be installed at Metro Rail stations. L&T has posted private security guards at all stations, but the government will have to make its own arrangements.

The state government has set November 20 as the deadline for completion of the two corridors from Nagole to Ameerpet and from Miyapur to Ameerpet. Mr Rao said, “We will be ready by November 20. We are awaiting confirmation from the office of the Prime Minister regarding the inauguration.”

He said the TS government wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate Hyderabad Metro Rail as it was the first and largest public-private partnership project in the country. “The project has been built by an Indian company, which shows that we are capable of successfully completing such mega projects,” he said.

Mr Modi will be in the city to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit from November 28 to 30. If his schedule does not allow him time to inaugurate the Metro Rail, the TS government is willing to wait.

Mr Rao said, “We are trying to get it done during Mr Modi’s visit to the city so that he does not have to come twice. It’s a matter of pride for India, and we are keen on the PM opening the project.”

Talks on for Metro in Old city: KTR

Minister K.T. Rama Rao said the Metro Rail talks were going with elected representatives in the Old City to work out a way to make the Metro Rail viable.

L&T Metro Rail’s original plan had to be scrapped due to problems in land acquisition.

Other challenges include the presence of areas with high population densities and the presence of 13 religious structures on the route.