Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated and laid the foundation of several railway projects, including redevelopment of 21 stations, in Rajasthan.
According to an official statement, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment works of 21 railway stations in the state -- Ajmer Junction, Pali Marwar, Sanganer, Beawar, Fatehnagar, Jawai Dam, Rani, Somesar, Gogamedi, Raisingh Nagar, Dausa, Fatehpur Shekhawati, Khairthal, Neem Ka Thana, Rajgarh, Deeg, Dholpur, Govindgarh, Khedli, Bundi, and Jhalawar City.
He also inaugurated and laid the foundation of 112 road over bridges and underpasses in the state.
The prime minister inaugurated and laid the foundation of redevelopment work of 553 railway stations and 1,500 road overbridges and underpasses at a cost of about Rs 41,000 crore across the country under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. On the occasion, programmes were organised at 2,021 places across the country in which more than 40 lakh people participated.
PM Modi said that today's India is going through a phase of change, the prime example of which is the Indian Railways. A decade ago, the average annual budget of the railways was Rs 45,000 crore, which has now increased to more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore.
He said that Amrit Bharat station is a symbol of the country's heritage and development. Each station reflects a specialty of the local city. For example, the Rangpur station in Sikkim is influenced by local architecture, while the Sanganer station bears the imprint of sixteenth-century hand block printing.
On this occasion, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma expressed his gratitude to the prime minister for the works.
Mr Sharma said that railways is playing an important role in realising the vision of a developed India under the able leadership of Prime Minister Modi. Along with modernisation, world-class facilities are being developed in the railways which is providing relief to the common people.
Mr Sharma said that Vande Bharat Express and Amrit Bharat Station are being discussed all over the world. The Indian Railways has achieved new heights through innovations in the construction of new railway lines, high-speed trains, cleanliness and digitalisation.
He said that to make Sanganer a world-class railway station, redevelopment has been planned at a cost of Rs 192 crore. Under this, the number of railway lines at Sanganer station will be increased from three to five. Besides, development works of ticket, parcel office, retiring room, upgradation of main entry building, 12-metre wide foot over bridge with lift, platform and shed, etc. are also proposed at the station.
He said that all these facilities will increase the arrival of passengers at Sanganer station and will promote employment at the local level. He said that the connectivity of long route trains will also increase at the station and passengers will be able to travel long distances with ease.
On this occasion, Union Railway, Communications and Electronics Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that more than 30,000 kilometers of railway lines have been constructed and doubled in the last decade.
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