PM attacks previous Govts for delaying work on dedicated freight corridor project
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the New Bhaupur-New Khurja of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) to the nation on Tuesday and said these freight corridors will play a major role in making India self-reliant.
“These freight corridors will play a major role in making India self-reliant. Be it traders, farmers or consumers, everyone will be benefitted from these,” said PM Modi through video conferencing.
“We are seeing today, the biggest and modern railway infrastructure project after independence on the ground. Today, when the first goods train ran on the Khurja-Bhaupur freight corridor route, we heard the buzz and roar of the new and self-reliant India,” he added.
The Operation Control Centre in Prayagraj is also a symbol of the new power of the new India, the Prime Minister stated.
“It is one of the finest and modern control centres in the world. Everyone will be proud to hear that the technology related to management and data is prepared in India. Infrastructure is the biggest source of power in any nation,” said PM Modi.
Connectivity in infrastructure is like the nerves of the nation. The better these veins are, the healthier and stronger a nation is, the Prime Minister said.
The 351 km New Bhaupur – New Khurja section of EDFC is situated in Uttar Pradesh and is built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crores.
The EDFC which is envisioned over a route of 1,856 km, starts from Sahnewal near Ludhiana in Punjab and will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal.
It is being constructed by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), which has been set up as a special purpose vehicle to build and operate Dedicated Freight Corridors.
DFCCIL is also constructing the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (1,504 route km) that connects Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai and will traverse through the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out at previous Governments for delaying the Dedicated Freight Corridor project of the Railways and said his Government engaged with stakeholders to speed up the work.
The project was given permission in 2006 but it was only on paper as the then Government lacked the seriousness and urgency with which it had to to take it up with the states, he said after inaugurating the New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor via video conferencing.
Till 2014 not a single km track of the project was laid and the funds sanctioned could not be spent properly. After 2014 ,it was restarted and officials asked to take it forward and by then the budget had gone went up 11 times, the Prime Minister said
Modi also inaugurated the EDFC’s operation centre at Prayagraj and flagged off the first 1.5 km long goods trains.
The Prime Minister said that on coming to power, he personally monitored the project and held a dialogue with the stakeholders and got new technology as a result of which about 1100 km work will be completed in next few months.
“Imagine not a single km in eight years and 1100 km in 6 years,” he said. (AGENCY)
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