By Diwanshi SrivastavaLUCKNOW: Lucknow Metro is winning hearts with every passing day, and for many, their routine commute is unthinkable in any other way now. Several others, meanwhile, are making efforts to reach the station nearest to them just to experience the new ride. However, residents of many localities away from the Metro route say they are disappointed they will have to wait for a long time till a Metro station is easily within their reach. The corridor from CCS Airport to Munshipulia connects many important areas including Alambagh, Charbagh, Hussainganj, Hazratganj, Lucknow University, Badshahnagar and Indiranagar. However, prominent commercial and residential areas such as Gomtinagar, Jopling Road, Chowk, Chinhat and Jankipuram have been left out of the route. Jopling Road and Gokhale Marg are busy locations having both commercial and residential buildings but the nearest Metro station at Hazratganj is far from them.Businessman Ajay Shukla from Jopling Road said, "I frequently move around the city for business. To take the Metro, I will have to first travel 2.5km till Hazratganj on my bike and then go towards wherever I need to. I would rather use my bike all the way."Gomtinagar and Gomtinagar Extension are hubs of corporate and government offices, besides being prominent residential areas with population above 6 lakh. The nearest Metro station for them is Indiranagar, which is far from many localities in these two areas. Preeti Khare, a homemaker from Viraj Khand, said, "Indiranagar Metro station is 7km from my house. Taking an autorickshaw would be cheaper and less time consuming."Vishal Sahu, a resident of Chowk who travels daily to his office in Gomtinagar, said "I will first have to take the Metro from KD Singh Stadium, which is 5km from my place, to Indiranagar. From there, I will need another conveyance for 3km to reach office. A personal conveyance is a better option for me."Deva Road and Chinhat have a dozen educational institutes including two private universities and several technical colleges. Everyday, thousands of students commute to and from different localities of the city to these. Mansi Tiwari, a student from Ismailganj, said, "I switch two public conveyances daily, covering 8km to reach my university. Metro connectivity would have provided both security and convenience." Amit Yadav, another student, said, "I travel for about 16km to reach my college. Metro would have saved time and money and I could have utilised the commute time by reading something."Jankipuram resident Praveena Pahwa said, "Metro connectivity would have been a great help, but it is disappointing to know that Jankipuram has been kept out of the present and proposed metro routes." Residents of Old City will have to wait for at least four years for Metro connectivity. The East-West corridor will cover Aminabad, City Station, KGMU, Thakurganj, Nawazaganj, Balaganj, Sarfarzganj and Vasant Kunj.

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