History created with seamless rail connectivity to Statue of Unity in Kevadiya

History created with seamless rail connectivity to Statue of Unity in Kevadiya

Prime Minister Narendra Modi for flags off eight trains connecting the different regions of the country to Kevadiya

Staff ReporterUpdated: Tuesday, January 19, 2021, 12:53 AM IST
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Mumbai: History was created in Gujarat on January 17, as the world's tallest statue, The Statue of Unity of Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at Kevadiya, came on the Indian Railways map. On this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Dabhoi–Chandod Gauge converted Broad Gauge rail line (18km), new broad gauge railway line from Chandod to Kevadiya (32km), newly electrified Pratapnagar–Kevadiya section (80km), the new station buildings of Dabhoi Junction, Chandod & Kevadiya and flagged off 8 new trains from various destinations to Kevadiya through video conferencing. With this marvelous milestone, a seamless connectivity by rail has been provided to pilgrims, passengers & tourists alike from different parts of the country.

Sumit Thakur, WR CPRO, said Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal virtually addressed the event, which was followed by the speech by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijaybhai Rupani at Kevadiya. This was followed by the screening of a short film showcasing the various milestones attained in commissioning the Dabhoi–Chandod–Kevadiya rail line and accomplishing the project within the set time goal by overcoming various hurdles of COVID pandemic and unusual rains.

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Yogi Aditya Nath of Uttar Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan of Madhya Pradesh, and Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi also attended the event virtually.

Gandhinagar: While carrying out the the virtual ground breaking ceremonies of the Surat Metro project and the second phase of Ahmedabad Metro project, PM Modi said that due to lack of modern vision in previous govts, works of only 225 km Metro network were operational, while the present govt's modern vision had helped complete more than 450 km of Metro line and work was in progress in more than 1000 km in 27 cities. The PM said, "The difference between the work of previous govts and our govt is clearly seen. In the 10-12 years of previous govts, only 225 kms of Metro line were operational, while in 6 years of our govt, more than 450 kms of Metro line in 27 cities is operational.”

There was a time in the country when there was no modern thinking, no policy even for Metro. There was no uniformity between various Metros being developed across the country and there was no coordination with other modes of transport in the cities."

"Now, we are approaching Metro work with an integrated approach, where the other modes of transport like bus and railways will work in unison with the Metro in an integrated approach. The National Common Mobility Card launched in Ahmedabad is another feature which will help in this integration in the future. We are working with not only looking at the current requirements but the requirements 10 years later," said Modi.

The Prime Minister virtually carried out the groundbreaking ceremonies of the Surat Metro which consists of 40.35 km Metro line consisting of two corridors, between Sarthana and DreamCity and Bhesan and Saroli lines. He also carried out the groundbreaking ceremony of the second phase of Ahmedabad Metro, which also comprises two corridors, one from Motera to Mahatma Mandir and the second from Gujarat National law University (GNLU) to GIFT City.

The PM said that Surat and Ahmedabad are cities which will strengthen Atma Nirbharta (self-reliance). "Earlier, two decades back, Surat was known more for disasters such as plague, rather than its development. Now, Surat is the fourth rapidly developing city in the world. 40% of the man-made fabric production in the country comes from Surat and about 30% of man-made fibre is also from Surat. Today, Surat is the second cleanest city in the country. All this has been possible due to better planning. Earlier, 20% of the population lived in huts and shanties, now due to affordable housing schemes only 6% live in shanties. Surat is the best example of Ek Bharat, Shreshth Bharat, where aspiring people from across the country have made it home," added the PM.

Similarly, the PM said that Gandhinagar's image has also transformed in recent years. "Gandhinagar, earlier had the image of a town of Government employees and retired persons...It could not even be called a city. Now, we have seen transformation of its image in recent years and we see youth everywhere nowadays. Today, Gandhinagar is known for the IIT Gandhinagar, GNLU, the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU),Indian Institute of Teachers Education, the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Communication and Technology, the National Institute of Design , Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Application and Geo-informatics (BISAG) ... Company campuses have increased here, raising employment. New modern infra projects have livened up Gandhinagar and in a way made it a dream City," the PM added.

"Today India is taking decisions with confidence. It is not only doing things bigger but also better. India is coming out with the largest affordable housing program and the biggest healthcare services. More than six thousand villages will be connected to the internet shortly," the PM further said.

The PM talked about a program which was rarely discussed and that was the Pragati program. "n the Pragati meetings, I discuss with the government and administration officials, in detail about all the various projects which have been stalled, lingering on for decades. Projects worth 13 lakh crore have been discussed, where we are trying to solve the glitches," added the PM.

The Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-II is 28.25 Kms long with two corridors. Corridor-1 is 22.8 Kms long and is from Motera Stadium to Mahatma Mandir. Corridor-2 is 5.4 Kms long and is from GNLU to GIFT City. The total completion cost of Phase-II project is Rs 5,384 crores.

The Surat Metro Rail Project is 40.35 kms long and comprises two corridors. Corridor-1 is 21.61 kms long and is from Sarthana to Dream City. Corridor-2 is 18.74 kms long and is from Bhesan to Saroli. The total completion cost of the Surat Metro project is Rs 12,020 crores.

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