Prime Minister Narendra Modi to open Katra rail link next month

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, June 27, 2014:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir in the first week of July to inaugurate the Udhampur-Katra rail link, which will improve access to the Vaishno Devi shrine.

This will be Modi’s first visit outside Delhi after his recent trip to Goa to dedicate the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, the country’s largest warship, to the nation. However, the exact dates for the visit are yet to be announced, sources said.

Modi is also expected to visit Vaishno Devi. This would be the first major project inaugurated by Modi in Jammu and Kashmir.

Besides inaugurating the rail link, Modi is expected to focus in his public speeches in J&K on his government’s plans to resettle Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to flee the state after being targeted by militants in the 1980s and 1990s. The resettlement of the Pandits has been described as a priority by the BJP government.

The railways declared the 25-km Udhampur-Katra line ready for operations earlier this month after the trial run of a train from New Delhi to Katra. Trains currently can go up to Udhampur and the new section will allow pilgrims to travel directly to Katra, the base camp for the cave shrine.

Built at a cost of Rs.1,050 crore, the rail link includes seven tunnels and 30 small and big bridges. Officials said the track was fully ready for trains that could carry pilgrims travelling to the shrine. About 10 million pilgrims visit Vaishno Devi every year.

Modi had visited Vaishno Devi on March 26 before launching the BJP’s poll campaign from Hiranagar.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh was earlier scheduled to open the rail link in February but the inauguration was put off when the Commissioner for Railways Safety pointed out several deficiencies. These problems have now been resolved by the railways, officials said.