Renovated at Rs 7 crore, PM inaugurates Kangra’s Baijnath-Paprola rail station
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today virtually inaugurated the Baijnath-Paprola railway station in Kangra district renovated at a cost of over Rs 7 crore under the Amrit Bharat Yojana of the Central Government.
The Prime Minister had virtually laid the foundation stone of the project last year. Kangra MP Rajiv Bhardwaj and Rajya Sabha MP Indu Goswami, besides Baijnath MLA Kishori Lal were present on the occasion.
The Baijnath-Paprola railway station falls in Jammu division and is among 554 railway stations in the country that have undergone facelift, including the construction of platforms, over-bridges, parking lots, better passenger facilities and the replacement of old station buildings. The renovation work has been completed in record one and a half year.
The Prime Minister said that the railway stations he had inaugurated had been developed as per world-class standards. The Baijnath-Paprola station would significantly boost tourism in the Kangra valley, thus attracting more visitors to the ancient Shiva temple of Baijnath and other pilgrimage centres of the district.
The Prime Minister said that the Centre had laid special focus on the development and beautification of railway stations in the country with the objective of providing better amenities to passengers.
Bhardwaj said that at present, the work on railway projects worth Rs 15,000 crore was underway in Himachal Pradesh to provide better facilities to people. He thanked the Prime Minister for the renovation of the Baijnath-Paprola railway station under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. People here would be benefited from the increase in tourist inflow to the ‘Shiv Bhoomi’ Baijnath due to the construction of the railway station, as per world-class standards, he added.
He said that the NDA Government had given funds for the railway projects 25 times more than the average annual allocation of Rs 108 crore during 2009-2014 when the UPA Government was in power.
Indu Goswami said that 60-km railway lines had been electrified in the state during the NDA government. Besides, a Vande Bharat Express was now operating between New Delhi and Amb in Una district, providing residents with fast, easy and convenient travel. The Amb-Andaura railway station in Una district had also been developed. The aim of the initiative was to give a fresh impetus to railway infrastructure and connectivity in the state.
Himachal Tribune