Lays foundation stone for redevelopment of 508 Stns
J&K’s 3 Stns to be modernized with Rs 294 cr
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that redevelopment of Jammu Tawi Railway Station will be inspired by the famous Raghunath temple, located in heart of the temple City.
Addressing a function after laying foundation stone of 508 Railways Stations across the country for redevelopment including three in Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu, Udhampur and Budgam), through video conferencing from New Delhi, Modi made specific mention of three stations—one each in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Nagaland which will be inspired by local history.
“Jaipur Railway Station will have glimpses of Hawa Mahal and Amer Fort from Rajasthan, Jammu Tawi Railway Station in Jammu and Kashmir will be inspired by the famous Raghunath Mandir and Dimapur Station of Nagaland will showcase local architecture of 16 different tribes from the region,” the Prime Minister said.
Raghunath Mandir is located in heart of the Jammu City and is thronged by large number of people including local, tourists and those coming from abroad. Majority of pilgrims visiting holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi Ji also throng Raghunath temple.
He virtually laid foundation stone of three Railway Stations in Jammu and Kashmir including Jammu Tawi, Udhampur and Budgam.
The function at Budgam was attended by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha while in Udhampur it was joined by Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh. Lok Sabha MP from Jammu-Poonch Jugal Kishore Sharma addressed the function at Jammu Tawi Railway Station.
“All these three Railway Stations will be redeveloped at the cost of Rs 294 crore,” the officials said.
“Every Railway Station will be a symbol of modern aspirations of the country along with ancient heritage,” Modi said and mentioned strengthening of the ‘Bharat Gaurav Yatra Trains’ which connect places of historical relevance and pilgrimages.
The redeveloped Railway Stations will have State-of-the-Art facilities like multiple entrance gates, platforms, Escalators, lifts, facilities for specially abled persons, , restaurants, cyber cafes, Wi-Fi, help centres for senior citizens etc.
A total provision of Rs 24,470 has been kept for redevelopment of 508 Railway Stations.
Jammu and Udhampur receive large number of trains from different States/Union Territories carrying large number of pilgrims to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji cave shrine daily besides Kashmir-bound tourists as the Valley is yet to be connected by the train.
Budgam Railway Station will also be redeveloped along with 508 Stations in the country. Trains have been running daily between Banihal to Budgam and vice versa.
A number of trains from different States and UTs have also been reaching directly to Katra, the base camp of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji shrine. However, Katra already has latest facilities required for a Railway Station.
Most of the Railway Stations constructed/or being constructed on Katra-Baramulla Railway Line are already modern Stations, the sources said, adding the Central Government is quite confident that train will reach Kashmir valley either by the end of this year or start of next year.
Meanwhile, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Member of Parliament BJP Lok Sabha Jammu attended the virtual foundation laying function by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Jammu Tawi Railway Station and laid foundation stone for Redevelopment of Jammu Tawi Railway Station under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
Adressing the gathering, Sharma said that efforts were made for development & extension of Jammu Tawi Railway Station and today “we are getting fruitful results.” He said that Jammu Railway Station will be now modernized and redeveloped under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme and it is for the first time when a big budget has been allocated for modernization of Railway Stations.
In his address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the opposition of playing “negative politics” and said now the entire country is rooting for corruption, dynasty and appeasement to ‘quit India’.
He alleged a section of the opposition is driven by the principle of neither working nor letting others work.
“Unfortunately, in our country, there is a section of the Opposition who even today won’t do anything themselves and won’t allow others to do anything either. They are stuck with this attitude.
“In 70 years, they did not construct a war memorial for martyrs but when we built one they did not even feel ashamed of criticising it publicly,” he said.
“Away from the negative politics, we have taken the task of nation’s development as a mission and given it the top priority without caring for vote bank and party politics,” he said.
At present, the Prime Minister said, the Central Government is also running a campaign to provide jobs to 10 lakh youths through ‘Rozgar Mela’.
“This is the picture of a changing India where development is presenting new opportunities for the youths, and the youths are giving new wings to the development of the country,” he added.
Referring to the Quit India Movement anniversary on August 9, Modi said it was a historic day that created new energy in India’s struggle for Independence.
Today the whole country is roaring ‘Quit India’ for every evil, corruption, dynasty and appeasement, he said.
“Inspired by the Quit India Movement, the entire country is now roaring Quit India for every evil, saying ‘corruption, quit India’, ‘dynasty, quit India’, ‘appeasement, quit India’,” Modi said.
The PM mentioned the upcoming Partition Horror Remembrance Day and acknowledged the contribution of the people who gathered themselves after the shock and are contributing to the development of the country. “This day gives us the responsibility of keeping our unity intact.”
“Our Independence Day is the time to reiterate our commitment to our Tricolour and the progress of our nation. Like last year, this time also we have to hoist the tricolour at every house,” he said, urging the youth of the country to participate in the Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign in the run-up to Independence Day.
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