Modi Launches over Rs 14,000 Crore Projects in West Bengal, Assam, Flags off 5 Amrit Bharat Trains
NEW DELHI, Jan 18: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched development projects worth over ₹830 crore in West Bengal and flagged off three Amrit Bharat trains connecting Kolkata with other parts of the country.
In Assam, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the Rs 6,957-crore Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, and virtually flagged off two Amrit Bharat trains in Nagaon district.
At a function in Hooghly district’s Singur in West Bengal, Mr Modi inaugurated the Jayrambati-Barogopinathpur-Maynapur rail line, and flagged off a train between Maynapur and Jayrambati. “All central projects will accelerate the development of West Bengal. The central government is working to meet the goal of a developed eastern India,” Mr Modi said while addressing the programme.
The PM laid the foundation stone for the Extended Port Gate System, including an Inland Water Transport (IWT) terminal and a road over bridge, at Balagarh in Hooghly district, according to a statement issued by PMO. Spread over approximately 900 acres of land, Balagarh is being developed as a modern cargo handling terminal with an envisaged capacity of about 2.7 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).
The Balagarh project aims to significantly improve cargo evacuation efficiency by diverting vessel movement away from congested urban corridors. Mr Modi also flagged off three Amrit Bharat Express trains connecting Kolkata with New Delhi, Varanasi and Chennai. These trains will run on the Howrah-Anand Vihar Terminal, Sealdah-Banaras, and Santragachi-Tambaram routes.
Mr Modi performed ‘Bhoomi Poojan’ of the Kaziranga project at Kalibor. The corridor is aimed at ensuring safe wildlife movement across the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, reduce road accidents on National Highway-715, and boost ecotourism, while generating local employment opportunities, an official said. It forms part of the four-laning of the Kaliabor-Numaligarh section of NH-715, and includes around 34.45 km of elevated wildlife-friendly corridors, along with bypasses at Jakhalabandha and Bokakhat, he said. Mr Modi also reviewed a model of the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor.
The Prime Minister also virtually flagged off two Amrit Bharat Express trains – Dibrugarh-Gomti Nagar (Lucknow) and Kamakhya-Rohtak. These trains will significantly enhance long-distance rail connectivity between Assam and multiple States, including West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Haryana, reduce travel time, and provide modern passenger amenities, the official said.
Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve is famed for its biodiversity, having the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, along with significant numbers of tigers, elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer, amidst Brahmaputra River floodplains with extensive grasslands, forests, and wetlands.
(Manas Dasgupta)
