KATRA/JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Jitendra Singh reached Katra in Reasi district on Thursday to review arrangements a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, officials said.
On Friday, the prime minister is scheduled to inaugurate the Chenab bridge and the Anji bridge, India’s first cable-stayed bridge, the symbol of the country’s engineering excellence, before flagging off Vande Bharat trains to mark the completion of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) that will provide direct train connectivity to the Kashmir valley.
He will also lay the foundation of and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth over Rs 46,000 crore at Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hills.
“Tomorrow (Friday) is a historic day, when our prime minister will dedicate to the nation the complete railway line connecting Jammu and Srinagar, along with the iconic Chenab and Anji bridges,” Vaishnaw told reporters on reaching Katra.
He said the inauguration will mark the fulfilment of the decades-old dream to connect Kashmir to the country’s railway network.
The prime minister will flag off two specially-designed Vande Bharat trains that will not only connect Jammu and Srinagar but also facilitate the pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine, the minister said.
Vaishnaw earlier inspected the Jammu railway station, which is undergoing massive renovation, and said it will have a state-of-the-art bridging facility like many places in the world, under which travellers can change from a normal train to a specially-designed high-altitude train.
“The specially-designed Vande Bharat trains are meant to travel between Srinagar and Jammu but for the time being, these will run between Katra and Srinagar as the work on the Jammu railway station is underway.
“The work at the Jammu railway station is likely to be completed by September and accordingly, the service will be shifted back to Jammu,” Vaishnaw said.
Earlier, Abdullah and Singh together visited the iconic Chenab bridge site and other venues of the prime minister’s daylong programme to review the arrangements.
“Last minute touches at the site of the inauguration of the world’s highest railway bridge, the Chenab Bridge, by PM Narendra Modi tomorrow,” Singh wrote on X, also sharing pictures of his visit to the bridge along with Abdullah. (PTI)