Agencies New Delhi, Aug 6: In a historic initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for redevelopment of 508 railway station across India via video conferencing today. The stations are to be revamped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. 71 stations are in Northern Railway are to be modernised. Events were held on almost all stations in the state with the dignitaries and the people participated with great enthusiasm. The dignitaries present included, Vinai Kumar Saxena, Lieutenant Governor, Delhi, Meenakshi Lekhi, of State of External Affairs and Culture and Athawale Ramdas Bandu, MoS of Social Justice and Empowerment at Delhi Cantt. station, Harsh Vardhan MP Lok Sabha at Delhi Subzi Mandi, Gen. V K Singh, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Road Transport and Highways at Ghaziabad, Bandaru Dattatraya, Governor Haryana and Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State (IC) Ministry of Planning and MoS Corporate Affairs at Pataudi Road, Krishan Pal Gujjar, MoS Heavy Industries at Faridabad, Shiv Pratap Shukla, Governor, HP and Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Youth affairs & Sports at Amb Andaura, Lt. Gen. Gurmeet Singh, Governor, Uttarakhand and Sh. Pushar Singh Dhami Chief Minister, Uttarakhand at Harrawala, Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor of J&K at Budgam, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (I/C) in the Prime Minister's office, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space at Udhampur, Banwari Lal Purohit, Governor, Punjab and Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief minister, Haryana at Chandigarh Som Parkash, MoS Commerce & Industry and Kaushal Kishore, MoS for Housing and Urban Affairs at Utraitia Jn. Speaking on the occasion, PM Modi said that Railway is the Life Line of the Nation, as it is the preferred mode of transport for people of India across the country. The Railway stations are the hub of activity in any city or town. He emphasized on the importance of providing world class amenities at railway stations giving them a newness and to use the space optimally for creating modern facilities for the passengers. Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme the stations will be designed keeping in view the local art and culture of the region and will have integrated multimodal connectivity. 1309 important stations across the country are to be redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. These stations will be redeveloped at a cost of Rs 25,000 crores. The stations are to be development as 'City Centre's with proper integration of both sides of the city. The redevelopment will provide modern amenities which will also be Divyangjan friendly and will ensure well designed traffic circulation, inter-modal integration and helpful signage for guidance of passengers. The design of the station buildings will be inspired by local culture, heritage and architecture. The 508 stations to be redeveloped if the first phase are spread across 27 states and union territories. 71 stations are to be redeveloped over Northern Railway in the states & UTs of J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi Area and Uttar Pradesh. these include; Delhi Division:- Delhi Cantt., Sabzi Mandi, Narela, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Rohtak, Sonipat, Mansa, Modinagar, Jind Jn, Narwana Jn, Bahadurgarh, Pataudi Road, Shamli. Ambala Division:- Chandigarh, Patiala, Dhuri, Kalka, Sangrur, Sirhind, Anandpur Sahib, Rupnagar, Nangal Dam, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali), Malerkotla , Ambala Cantt, Amb Andaura, Yamuna Nagar Jagadhri, Abohar, Saharanpur Jn. Firozpur Division:- Firozpur Cantt, Kapurthala, Phillaur Jn., Kot Kapura Jn., Pathankot City, Muktsar, Udhampur, Fazilka, Dhandari Kalan, Gurdaspur, Budgam, Ludhiana Jn., Jammu Tawi, Jalandhar Cantt Jn. Lucknow Division:- Kashi, Rae Bareli Jn., Jaunpur Jn., Prayag Jn., Sultanpur Jn., Utretia Jn, Barabanki Jn., Pratapgarh Jn., Unnao Jn., Ghai Jn., Amethi, Bhadohi, Darshan Nagar, Phulpur, Shahganj Jn. Moradabad Division:- Harrawala, Najibabad Junction, Hardoi, Roorkee, Hapur, Rampur Jn., Bijnor, Amroha, Nagina, Chandausi, Gajraula, Shahjahanpur. |