Union Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal on Wednesday reviewed the progress of the ongoing Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) National Project in Jammu & Kashmir.

V K Yadav, CEO and Chairman of Railway Board and Ashutosh Gangal, General Manager Northern Railway were also present in the meeting held via video conferencing. Vijay Sharma, Chief Administrative Officer/ Construction USBRL Project apprised the Minister about the latest status of work on the last leg of the project between Katra-Banihal.

Expressing satisfaction on the progress the project Goyal said that, the aspirations of the people of Jammu & Kashmir has to be fulfilled by completing the project so that the region gets a good transportation system to remain connected to the rest of the country all the year round.

He called upon the engineers working on the project to expedite the remaining portion on mission mode.

He also instructed them to complete the procurement of materials and permission procedures on time so that there is no delay in the construction of the line.

Ashutosh Gangal, GM, Northern Railway shared with the Minister that in spite of Ramban and Reasi districts where the project is under-construction being declared as COVID-19 Red and Orange zones, the work on the projects continued following the Covid-19 SOPs.

“Artisans camps and isolation centers have been provided on sites. Around 366 people working on the various points had been detected with the virus, but all have recovered well,” he said.