New Delhi, July 6 (IANS). Indian Railways has made special preparations for the Rath Yatra of Lord Shri Jagannath Ji, so that the devotees do not face any kind of problem. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that more than 300 special trains will be operated during the Rath Yatra. Apart from this, more than 100 special trains will also be run in Kerala for Onam festival.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, along with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, took stock of the preparations of Indian Railways for the upcoming Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Puri city of Odisha.
Ashwini Vaishnav made a holistic assessment of the Railways’ arrangements including crowd management, passenger movement and operational preparedness. Senior Railway officials and local administration briefed them about the integrated arrangements and detailed operational plan made for the smooth conduct of the festival.
CM Majhi, while posting on the social media platform This new train connecting Coastal, Western and Southern Odisha is a unique gift for Jagannath devotees. On this auspicious occasion, the preparations of Railways for the smooth conduct of the world famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath were also reviewed. For the safe and comfortable travel of lakhs of devotees on the Yatra, Indian Railways has strengthened its services like running hundreds of special trains, larger holding areas, catering and additional ticket counters.
He further wrote that under the leadership of PM Modi, the annual railway budget in the state has increased significantly and unprecedented changes are taking place in the infrastructure. Under the ‘Amrit Bharat Station Scheme’, Puri Railway Station is also being developed as a world-class station keeping in mind its cultural grandeur. With the blessings of the Lord, this all-round development and rail connectivity to all the districts of the state will take us further towards building a prosperous Odisha and developed India.
BJP MP Sambit Patra wrote in X Post that he inspected the under-construction Puri railway station in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav. During the inspection, a detailed review of the progress of various development and modernization works going on in the station premises was conducted. An overview of the work being done with the aim of providing world class facilities to the passengers, strengthening the infrastructure of the station and ensuring safe, easy and convenient travel for lakhs of devotees and tourists coming throughout the year including the sacred Rath Yatra of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath Ji was observed.
Patra said that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, keeping in mind the increasing number of devotees during the Rath Yatra, has announced to run more than 300 special trains, so that the travel of the devotees coming from different parts of the country can be more convenient and easy.
Referring to the Puri-Koraput Express, the BJP MP wrote that the launch of this new rail service connecting the coastal areas with the hilly areas will further strengthen the connectivity between different areas of Odisha. Along with giving a new impetus to tourism, trade, business and transportation, it is expected to prove to be an important milestone in the overall development of the state.
–IANS
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