By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 14 Sep: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reviewed the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail project with officials of the Rail Vikas Nigam in Rishikesh, today. While reviewing the progress of the project at the office of the Rail Vikas Nigam located at the Rishikesh Railway Station, the Chief Minister directed the officials to expedite the works. Observing that, so far, the work had progressed satisfactorily and in a well coordinated manner, he said the pace needed to be maintained further. He assured the officials all possible cooperation for the project from the state government.
The Chief Minister said that, along with the Char Dham road project, the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail project was a big contribution of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Uttarakhand. The time is not far when the dream of rail services in the hills of Uttarakhand would come true, he declared. This would result in a big boost to the economy of the state.
Making the presentation, Himanshu Badoni, Chief Project Manager of the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Project, said that work was being done with the goal of completing the project by March 2024. So far, the project had progressed at the expected pace. He said that most of the railway lines after Rishikesh would be underground. Land acquisition had been done for this. As many as 12 stations and 17 tunnels were being built on this railway line. Simultaneous work was going on at various places so that the work could be completed within the stipulated time frame. The approach roads were also already being built. The state government had extended full cooperation towards the completion of the project. Badoni added that many public welfare works were being carried out by Rail Vikas Nigam. A 52-bed joint hospital was also being built in the city. Oxygen plants had also been built. Efforts were being made to develop the rail project as a horticulture and honey belt. For this, tree plantation was being done on a large scale.
Assembly Speaker Premchand Aggarwal, Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal, Secretaries R Meenakshi Sundaram, Ranjit Sinha, Additional General Manager of Rail Development Corporation Vijay Dangwal, Senior Project Manager Om Prakash Malgudi and Additional General Manager Sumit Jain were among those present at the meeting. The Chief Minister also conducted an on-site inspection of the tunnel being built under the project at Rishikesh Railway Station and Gullar Dogi, Tehri.
