Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on Wednesday urged the Union Government to sanction a railway halt station at a point close to Shri Mata Mansa Devi Mandir in Panchkula as it would greatly cater to the needs of lakhs of devotees visiting the temple from all over India.
Manohar Lal assured all assistance including free land for this purpose to the Union Minister of Railways, Piyush Goel.
In a written communication to Piyush Goel, the Chief Minister said that the historic temple of Shri Mata Mansa Devi is being administered by the State Government through a Board under the chairmanship of Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister said that there is a railway line that passes through the temple complex just behind the Gaushala area. The railway line being hardly 100 yards, there has been a long pending demand for the construction of a small railway halt station at Shri Mata Mansa Devi Mandir. The halt station would greatly cater to the needs of lakhs of devotees from all over the India, he added.
Manohar Lal, in his letter said that besides the devotees of nearby places of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Chandigarh and Delhi, many devotees from far flung areas like Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan also visit this historical temple.
While Chandigarh railway station is about 6.5 kilometers away from the temple, the halt station at Chandi Mandir is 7.5 kilometers and Kalka railway station is at a distance of 22 kilometers, he said.
The Chief Minister further said that this temple is one of the sacred ‘Shaktipeeths’ and enjoys immense significance in the Hindu religion. During Navratras, between seven to nine lakh people come here for darshan. Even on other days a large number of devotees pay obeisance to the deity, he said.
CM urges Finance Minister to reduce custom duty on mutilated rags Haryana Chief Minister has urged the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to consider reduction in the custom duty on mutilated rags used as ‘industrial raw material’ in the interest of shoddy spinning manufacturers of the state.
Manohar Lal, in a written communication to the Union Finance Minister said that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has increased the custom duty on textile chapter 63.10 from five per cent to 20 per cent which has adversely impacted the shoddy spinning manufacturers. He said that the consequent steep rise in the production cost has seriously threatened their economic viability.