Observing that connectivity was key to make India a developed country, the Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu today called for developing infrastructure on par with the highest international standards, particularly in providing rail, road, air and port connectivity and improving the service delivery to the people.Speaking after flagging off Gudur-Vijayawada Inter-City Super Fast Express at Gudur Railway Station, Shri Naidu stressed the need to step up investments to strengthen and modernize the infrastructure--be it railways, airways, ports, airports, inland waterways, rural roads, warehouses, transport, rural roads and cold storage units among others.Shri Naidu also dedicated to the nation the electrification of Venkatachalam-Obulavaripalle railway line, India’s longest electrified rail tunnel( 6.6 km between Cherlopalli and Rapuru) and remodelled yard at Gudur Railway station and inaugurated new platforms (4 & 5) and second foot over bridge at Gudur railway stations.Pointing out that India was the fastest growing major economy in the world, the Vice President said that an ambitious plan to build next-generation infrastructure including 100 Smart Cities, 10 green-field airports, 7 high-speed train corridors, 5 major ports, highways, inland water ways, rural roads, warehouse and cold storage chains and nation-wide broadband connectivity linking our villages and urban areas was underway.“These programs will vastly improve connectivity, and prove as catalysts for industrialization and to take our trade and investment to a new level”, he added.Under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, about 60,000 km of National Highways were being built. As many as 111 rivers have been identified as National Waterways.
Apart from modernizing our railways, new metros in the urban centres and dedicated freight corridors were being built.Expressing his happiness that railway stations were being modernised in a phased manner and that about 500 stations were taken up for redevelopment through PPP model, Shri Naidu said that the PPP model should be adopted wherever necessary.The Vice President hailed the bullet train as a visionary project which will herald a new era of safety, speed and service for the people and help Indian Railways become an international leader in scale, speed and skill.Shri Naidu described India's first high-tech, energy-efficient train, the Vande Bharat Express as a prime example of the success of Make in India programme.Referring to the BharatNet project, he said that about 2.5 Lakh Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country were being connected through high-speed Optic fibre cable network and called for creating a digital society to empower the people.He said the new Inter City Super Fast Express between Gudur and Vijayawada fulfills a long-cherished dream of the people of the region and would provide comfortable day journey at an affordable price.He said the series of developmental initiatives undertaken by the Railways would not only boost the rail infrastructure and passenger facilities in Andhra Pradesh but would also help in boosting the socio-economic growth of this region.Shri Naidu said the new rail line between Venkatachalam and Obulavaripalli would help in faster movement of freight and reduces distance and the travel time by at least 5 hours.Shri Naidu also appreciated the Indian Railways for creating large scale employment and contributing to economic development in the country through various projects. The railways was playing a major role in promoting tourism in the country, he added.The Minister of State for Railways, Shri Suresh Angadi, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, the Minister for Irrigation, Andhra Pradesh, Shri P. Anil Kumar Yadav and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.