PM sanctions Puri-Konark rail line and ₹ 492 Crore for the 32 Km-long rail project: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Bhubaneswar: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in an interaction today with media here stated that the much-awaited Puri-Konark rail line has been sanctioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ₹ 492 crore has also been sanctioned for construction of this 32 Km-long rail line.

Vaishnaw said that the project has been sanctioned and funds are available. Work for this project will start just after getting land for construction of the rail line. Altogether, 217 acres of land is necessary for this project. He urged cooperation from the State government in the field of land acquisition work.

Once the line is commissioned, this will promote Spiritual, Heritage, and Coastal Tourism. Vistadome-like train services will run on this line. This will connect Konark Sun Temple with Shri Jagannath Temple. Jagannath culture will be in promotion in the trains on this route. Apart from this, 4 to 5 tourist hubs will be made in this rail line. Railways will be in coordination with the Jagannath Temple Administration for the promotion of Jagannath culture in the Rail section.

The Minister added that 409 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Road Under Bridges (RUBs) in Odisha have been constructed in the last 10 years and 220 ROBs & RUBs are now in progress in the State.

These apart, Vaishnaw also released five commemorative postage stamps on legendary poets of Odisha and the cultural heritage of Western Odisha through video conferencing from Bhubaneswar. He also inaugurated 42 branch Post Offices in seven districts of Western Odisha.

Union Minister of Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan graced the function at Biju Patnaik Auditorium in Sambalpur University of Burla during releasing of postage stamps and the inauguration of post offices.