Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off six Vande Bharat trains at Tatanagar Junction Railway Station in Jharkhand via video conferencing.
The state-of-the-art Vande Bharat Express trains will improve the connectivity on these routes: Tatanagar – Patna, Bhagalpur – Dumka – Howrah, Brahmapur – Tatanagar, Gaya – Howrah, Deoghar – Varanasi and Rourkela – Howrah
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation various Railway Projects worth more than Rs 660 crore in Tatanagar, Jharkhand through video conferencing.
The Prime Minister also distributed sanction letters to 32,000 Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) beneficiaries.
Earlier in the day, Modi flagged off six Vande Bharat trains at Tatanagar Junction Railway Station via video conferencing. He began his address by bowing before Baba Baidyanath, Baba Basukinath and the land of Lord Birsa Munda.
He noted the auspicious occasion of Karma parv in Jharkhand which is dedicated to worshiping nature and highlighted his welcome at the Ranchi airport today where a symbol of Karma parv was presented to him by a woman.
The Prime Minister said that women wish for a prosperous life for their brothers as part of Karma parv.
He conveyed his best wishes on the auspicious occasion and said that Jharkhand has been blessed today with six new Vande Bharat trains, development projects worth more than Rs 600 crore and pucca houses for the people of the state under PM Awas Yojna.
Modi congratulated the people of Jharkhand for the projects of today and other states who got Vande Bharat connectivity today.
Recalling the time when modern development was only limited to a few states and cities and states like Jharkhand were left behind, the Prime Minister underlined that the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ has transformed the thinking and the priorities of the nation.
“Nation’s priorities are its poor, tribals, dalits, deprived, women, youth and farmers”, Modi remarked.
The Prime Minister said today every city and every state wants a Vande Bharat train to boost connectivity.
He recalled flagging off three new Vande Bharat trains for the states in the North and South of India a few days ago and mentioned flagging off six new Vande Bharat trains today which have already begun their journey.
Prime Minister Modi underscored that the expansion of rail connectivity in Eastern India will strengthen the economy of the region and hugely benefit businesses, professionals and students.
Speaking about the boost in cultural activities as a result of the six new Vande Bharat trains, the Prime Minister mentioned that a large number of pilgrims who visit Kashi from India and the world would now get a chance to visit Baba Baidyanath in Deoghar with the introduction of Varanasi-Deoghar Vande Bharat.
He said that it would boost tourism in the region and also encourage the industrial development of Tatanagar, thereby creating new employment opportunities for the youth. “Modern railway infrastructure is imperative to fast paced development”, Modi said, drawing attention to the various development projects of today.
He mentioned laying the foundation stone for Madhupur Bye pass line in Deoghar district which will facilitate in avoiding detention of trains on Howrah-Delhi mainline and will also help in reducing travel time between Giridih and Jasidih.
The Prime Minister also touched upon Hazaribagh Town Coaching Depot in Hazaribagh district which will help in facilitating the maintenance of coaching stocks at this station. He said the doubling of Kurkura-Kanaroan line will boost rail connectivity in Jharkhand and strengthen connectivity to the steel industries.
He highlighted that the Centre had stepped up the investment as well as increased the pace of development works in Jharkhand to ensure its overall progress and development. Modi added that more than Rs 7,000 Crore was granted to Jharkhand for strengthening the railway infrastructure of the state in this year’s budget, which was 16 times more as compared to the budget allocated 10 years ago.
He further pointed out to the people about the benefits of increasing the railway budget – be it development of new lines or electrification of the lines or doubling of the lines or development of new infrastructure in the stations, work is going on at a rapid pace.
Modi lauded Jharkhand for being amongst those states in which the railway lines are 100 per cent electrified.
He highlighted that more than 50 railway stations in Jharkhand were being rejuvenated under the Amrit Bharat Railway Station scheme.
The Prime Minister underlined that the first installment of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) was being started today which would ensure pucca houses to thousands of beneficiaries. He added that other facilities of toilet, drinking water, electricity, gas connection were also provided along with PMAY-G.
He also tendered his humble apology before the people of Jharkhand as he could not be present at the venue due to poor weather conditions restricting his helicopter’s movement and compelling him to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for the projects of today via video conferencing.