Puri-Konark rail line gets go-ahead with Rs 492 crore funding

Bhubaneswar: The minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, announced the approval of the Puri-Konark rail line by prime minister Narendra Modi. A significant fund of Rs 492 crore has been allocated for the construction of this 32 km rail line.

Vaishnaw confirmed that the project is now sanctioned and with the funds secured, construction will kick off once the required 217 acre of land are acquired. He appealed for cooperation from the state government in the crucial task of land acquisition.

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The new rail line is expected to boost tourism, connecting the Konark Sun Temple with the Shri Jagannath Temple. Special train services, resembling Vistadome, will operate on this route, promoting Jagannath culture. Additionally, Vaishnaw highlighted the progress in infrastructure, noting the construction of 409 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Road Under Bridges (RUBs) in Odisha over the past decade, with 220 currently in progress.

In a cultural milestone, Vaishnaw released five commemorative postage stamps on legendary poets of Odisha and cultural heritage of Western Odisha through video conferencing from Bhubaneswar. He also inaugurated 42 branch post offices in seven districts of Western Odisha, with the participation of union minister Dharmendra Pradhan in an event at Sambalpur University.