KOCHI: It was on June 17, 2018 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened Kochi Metro to the public. Two days after the inaugural ceremony, the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) launched commercial services between Aluva and Palarivattom, ushering in a sea change in the public transport culture in the city. The KMRL is celebrating the first birthday of Kochi Metro operations on Sunday.To mark the first anniversary celebrations, Metro services will start at 7am instead of 8am. This will be followed by a cake cutting ceremony at Edappally station at 11am. People’s representatives from the Metro corridor will join KMRL managing director Mohammed Hanish and other officials for the festivities. The event will be followed by a special magic show ‘Time Travel-Magic Metro’ by magician Gopinath Muthukad “KMRL will felicitate the various agencies associated with Metro to make this a smooth journey. They include Kudumbashree, Kochi Metro Special Police and SIS (I) Ltd, the private security service provider,” said KMRL spokesperson.KMRL will host cultural activities at Edappally and Aluva stations from 2.30pm. At Edappally station, the stage is open to upcoming artists, and anyone can sing. At Aluva and Maharaja’s stations, teams from different colleges around the city will perform. Cultural events at Maharaja’s Ground station will begin at 4pm.KMRL has 519 employees, who work round-theclock to ensure that Metro services operate smoothly. Services were hardly disrupted, except during few occasions when trains were halted due to technical glitches and an instance when a building adjacent to Kaloor Metro station collapsed.A dedicated police station for Metro is now ready at Cusat station. The police station has a strength of 29 officers, including a CI and two SIs. Thirteen of them are women officers. The entire Metro system is under CCTV surveillance, and KMSP personnel posted at the stations are responsible for frisking passengers and scanning baggage.“It is a joyous occasion for the employees. The staff will participate in the anniversary celebrations and will come out with a flash mob and musical events. We will celebrate along with the people of Kochi,” added the spokesperson.As part of the anniversary celebrations, KMRL has replanted saplings in the vertical gardens set on Metro pillars.The opening of a skywalk connecting Edappally Metro station and Lulu Mall is expected to bring in more commuters and reduce the number of vehicles on the road.

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