Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 31 virtually flagged off the three Vande Bharat here on August 31 and said the speedy development of the southern states is needed to achieve the aim of ‘Viksit Bharat’.
The PM said that the development of southern states of the country is the priority of his Government. Giving a brief summary of Budgetary allocations to Railways during the UPA and the NDA, he also informed that the funds allocated for strengthening Railway network in Tamil Nadu this year, was seven times higher than those in 2014.
“Development of all southern states including Tamil Nadu and Karnataka is the priority of our Government,” Modi said. Drawing a comparison between fund allocation for the state now and during the Congress regime, the PM said, “In this year’s Budget we have given Tamil Nadu more than Rs 6,000 crore Railway Budget, seven times more than 2014. Six Vande Bharat are already running in Tamil Nadu, and now with these two more trains, the number will increase to eight. For Karnataka, more than Rs 7,000 crore were sanctioned, nine times more given during 2014.”
He said the increased outlay for the states in the Budget has improved the railway transport in these states. On Infrastructure development, he said railway tracks are being improved and electrified, and railway stations are being redeveloped leading to an increase in ease of living and ease of doing business.
He flagged off Vande Bharat trains on three routes — Meerut-Lucknow; Madurai-Bengaluru; and ChennaiNagercoil virtually.
“In the entire country, 102 Vande Bharat are operational and over 3,000 crore people have travelled in the trains which tells its success story,” the Prime Minister said while talking about the state-of-the-art trains being a big hit among commuters.
Modi said with Vande Bharat’s expansion and speed, the country, stepby-step, was forging ahead towards ‘Viksit Baharat’.
Counting on the facilities of the high-speed train, he said, “These new Vande Bharat trains will provide connectivity to important cities of the country. It will connect the temple city to the IT city. For weekends and festivals, the Vande Bharat service will provide good facilities. It will also facilitate pilgrims.”
He said that from Chennai Nagercoil, farmers, IT professionals and students will benefit. On the positive impact, Vande Bharat trains are yielding, Modi said places with connectivity via Vande Bharat are drawing more tourists.
