NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India is being watched with great hope by the world today and that the country has made remarkable progress in strengthening the economy, battling poverty and combatting the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Prime Minister said that people from all over the world want to come to India to see India and understand its essence. In such a situation there are excellent opportunities for states like Uttarakhand, said the Prime Minister who flagged off the inaugural run of Vande Bharat Express from Dehradun to Delhi via video conferencing.
The Prime Minister said India is unstoppable now and said that it is advancing and will continue to advance at a speed parallel to that of Vande Bharat.
“India is being watched with great hope. The world wants to come to India, to see India, and to understand the essence of India. In such a situation, there are excellent opportunities for states like Uttarakhand. The Vande Bharat train is also going to help Uttarakhand in taking full advantage of this opportunity”, he added.
He said that the government has transformed Indian Railways and the dream of high-speed trains has now become a reality.
The Prime Minister said that Devbhoomi Uttarakhand will become the centre of attraction for the spiritual consciousness of the whole world in the coming days. “Devbhoomi will become the centre of attraction for the spiritual consciousness of the whole world in the coming days. We have to shape Uttarakhand’s development as per future demands”, said PM Modi.
The PM said that work on the Char Dham Grand Project with a cost of Rs 12,000 crore is going on at a fast pace. “Work on the Char Dham Grand Project, at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore, is going on at a fast pace. Since 2014, we have transformed the Indian Railways. We began by making the dream of high-speed trains a reality. Now, 6,000 km of railway lines are electrified every year, compared to 600 km before 2014”, said PM Modi.
Congratulating the people of Uttarakhand, he said this train will connect the country’s capital with Devbhoomi at a faster speed. “This train, running between Delhi and Dehradun, will connect the country’s capital with Devbhoomi at a faster speed. Now the time of the train journey on Vande Bharat between Delhi-Dehradun will also be reduced considerably”, said PM Modi.
The train is the first Vande Bharat introduced in Uttarakhand. “Delighted to flag off the Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat Express. It will ensure ‘Ease of Travel’ as well as greater comfort for the citizens,” the Prime Minister tweeted.
Union Railway Minsiter Ashwini Vaishnav thanking PM Modi said that this time arrangements up to Rs 5000 crores have been made for railways in Uttarakhand.
“Today is a very fortunate day. PM is giving a big gift of Vande Bharat to Devbhoomi today. Ten years from today, when it came to the development of railways, Rs 187 crore was received from the central government and when Modi ji came in 2014, he immediately arranged funds for Uttarakhand. Arrangements up to Rs 2,000-4,000 crore were made for railways in Uttarakhand and this time, they have made arrangements of Rs 5,000 crore”, said Ashwini Vaishnav
The train has been built indigenously and is equipped with advanced safety features including the Kavach technology. It has world-class amenities and heralds a new era of comfortable travel experience, especially for tourists travelling to the state.
An official release said that Indian Railways is on a quest to completely electrify rail routes in the country guided by the vision of the Prime Minister of providing cleaner means of public transport. (ANI)