PM dedicates Katra-Udhampur rail link to nation
04 Jul 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today flagged off the first train to Udhampur, from Katra Railway Station in Jammu and Kashmir, and dedicated the Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-Udhampur railway line to the nation.
The train was flagged off amid vociferous chants of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" by schoolchildren on board the train. The prime minister also spoke to the children.
The rail link will connect the base camp town of Katra directly with the rest of the country and help millions of devotees who come to pay obeisance at the Vaishno Devi shrine every year.
The Katra-Udhampur section is a part of Northern Railway's ambitious 326-km-long Udhampur- Katra-Quazigund- Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project to provide seamless flow of rail connectivity from Jammu to Katra via Udhampur through the entire Indian Railways network.
The newly constructed Udhampur-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Rail Line is 25.6-km long, consisting of the 9.4 km long Udhampur-Chak Rakhwal and 15.5 km long Chak Rakhwal-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra sections. This railway line connects the important towns of Jammu region also.
''This railway line is not just a gift to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, but to the entire nation, to 125 crore Indians who wish to come to the shrine, and I am proud to be placing this gift before them,'' Modi said while dedicating the railway line.
'Want to win people's hearts' After flagging off the inaugural train from the newly-built Katra railway station, the base camp of the Vaishno Devi shrine, to Udhampur he said the link will help in the development of Jammu.
"This is a facility not only for the people of Jammu and Kashmir but also for the people of India, who want to visit Jammu and Kashmir," said Modi.
The PM suggested the new train to Katra be named Shreeshakti express and said the rail link will help in the development of Jammu.
"I assure you that there will be no shortage or obstacle in the development of Jammu," said Modi.
He added his government will make Jammu's development more qualitative and that Katra will develop very fast in the coming times.
"It is every Indian's dream that Jammu and Kashmir is happy and there is prosperity. We have to work for this, be it in power or not in power," he said.
Modi arrived in Srinagar amid a separatist shutdown call after inaugurating the 25 km-long Katra-Udhampur railway line in Jammu earlier in the day.
Modi's visit comes almost a month after a controversy over revoking Article 370 of the Constitution that gives special status to the state erupted in the wake of the BJP-led government assuming charge at the Centre.
Focus will also be on what Modi says on rehabilitating Kashmiri Pandits. Modi, during his election campaign, had blamed ruling National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah for their the exodus from the valley.
Modi is scheduled to review security situation in Srinagar in his maiden visit to Jammu and Kashmir after taking over as the PM.
He will then head to north Kashmir's Uri, which is close to the Line of Control, to inaugurate a 240 megawatt NHPC owned hydro-power project.
Modi arrived in the state amidst heightened security to thwart any 2013-like militant attack that took place ahead of former PM Manmohan Singh's visit.
In June last year, eight armymen were killed on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway near Hyderpora by suicide attackers on the eve of Singh's visit.
More than 2,300 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed from Srinagar to Uri.
Most separatists, including chairmen of moderate and hardline Hurriyat Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani and JKLF chief Yasin Malik, have called for a strike against the visit of PM Modi.
The authorities have placed around half a dozen separatist leaders under house arrest.
Militants groups have also issued fiery statements against Modi's visit to the state.
Additional troops have been moved to Jammu and Kashmir to ensure a peaceful visit for the prime minister. Reinforcements have already been sent from Srinagar to Baramulla.
