New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated the historic Kosi Rail Mahasetu to the Nation and inaugurated new Rail Lines and Electrification Projects in Bihar for the benefit of passengers through video conference.
Speaking on the occasion, Modi said a new history has been created in the field of rail connectivity in Bihar. He said projects worth about Rs 3000 crore like inauguration of Kosi Mahasetu and Kiul Bridge, electrification projects, promotion of Make in India in Railways and a dozen of new job creating projects are launched today. These projects will not only strengthen Bihar’s rail network but also strengthen West Bengal and Eastern India’s rail connectivity.
The Prime Minister congratulated the people of Bihar for the new and modern facilities which would benefit the railway passengers of Eastern India including Bihar. He said many parts of Bihar are cut off from each other due to many rivers crisscrossing the state and people have to perform long journeys due to this. He said four years ago, construction of two Mahasetu was started in Patna and in Munger, to solve this problem. Now due to the commissioning of these two rail bridges, the travel between North and South Bihar has eased and this has initiated a new momentum for development especially in North Bihar.
The Prime Minister said a severe earthquake which occured eight and a half decades ago isolated the Mithila and Kosi region and it is a coincidence that both the regions are being interlinked in the midst of a pandemic like Corona. He added that today the Supaul-Asanpur-Kupha rail route is dedicated to the nation due to the hard work of the migrant labourers who were also involved in the construction of the bridge.
He said this new Kosi rail line was envisaged in 2003 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister and Nitish Kumar was the Railway Minister, to overcome the problems of the people of Mithila and Kosi region. He said this project was fast paced during the present Government and work has been completed on Supaul-Asanpur Kupaha route using modern technology.