Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu laid the foundation stone in Badrinath for the final location survey to link the four important Hindu shrines in the hills of Uttarakhand
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu laid the foundation stone in Badrinath for the final location survey of an ambitious Rs 43,000-crore project to link the four important Hindu shrines in the hills of Uttarakhand. The Char Dham rail circuit will enable devotees to visit the famous Himalayan shrines — Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath — even in adverse climatic conditions.
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who accompanied the Union minister at the foundation-laying ceremony, described the proposed project as a milestone in the development of the state. For Gangotri and Yamunotri, the railway line will start from Doiwala near Dehradun, while for Kedarnath and Badrinath, it will start from Karnaprayag.
According to officials of the Railway ministry, the Doiwala-Gangotri line will be 131 km long and for Yamunotri another 22 km of tracks will be laid from Maneri. For Kedarnath, a 99 km rail link will be laid between Karnaprayag and Sonprayag and for Badrinath another 75 km long track will be laid between Karnaprayag and Joshimath.
Addressing a large crowd gathered at the venue, the Minister announced that with the construction of the Rail line, the Char Dham Yatra will become less arduous and more comfortable and convenient for the pilgrims and tourists wanting to visit the pristine and beautiful but ecologically sensitive region. He also said that PRS (Passenger Reservation System) will be made operational at Kedarnath and Badrinath.
The Char Dham rail link project is the second major gift from the Narendra Modi government to Uttarakhand after the Rs 12,000 crore all-weather Char Dham roads project whose foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister in Dehradun, ahead of the Assembly polls. “People all over the country want to visit Char Dham at least once in their lifetime. A rail link project in the area will make it more convenient for them as the pilgrimage will not have to face obstructions like landslides and bad weather,” Prabhu said.