Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone from New Delhi for redevelopment of 508 railway stations in the country under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) which included Amb-Andaura railway station of Himachal Pradesh.
Shiv Pratap Shukla and Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Youth Services and Sports Anurag Thakur were present in a function at Amb-Andaura railway station organized by Railways.
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also joined virtually from New Delhi in the foundation stone laying programme of redevelopment of railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
Earlier, speaking on the occasion, the Governor said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started a new chapter development in railways and he thanked by including Amb-Andaura railway station for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations in the country.
He said that Rs. 20.74 crore would be spent on the renovation of this station and earlier the Prime Minister had gifted the Vande Bharat train to the State.The Governor also thanked the Prime Minister for providing Rs. 1,838 crore for railway expansion in Himachal Pradesh.
In the Budget for the financial year 2023-24 including Rs. 1000 crore for Bhanupali-Bilaspur-Beri rail line of strategic importance, Rs. 450 crore for Chandigarh-Baddi rail line, Rs. 452 crore for Nangal-Talwara rail line.
“With the strengthening of the rail network in the State, religious tourism would also get a boost. Devotees coming from other states will have easy access to Shakti Peeths and other tourist places in Himachal Pradesh”, said Sh. Shukla.
He expressed contentment that Ambala Division has prepared a station development plan for Amb-Andaura Railway Station with special emphasis on local art and culture in consultation with technical experts and architects.
He said that based on the recommendations of the consultants and the feedback of the local people, various works were being done to modernize Amb-Andaura station as Amrit Bharat station. These also include improving traffic circulation and beautification of the circulating area.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur expressed gratitude towards the Prime Minister for including this station in the scheme. He said that the central government has made extensive changes in railway expansion and its modernization.
He said that the railway budget has been increased 9 times by increasing it to Rs. 2,40,000 crore. 6565 km electrification has been done, which is the highest ever, he added. He said that there has been a lot of change in railway expansion and modernization in Himachal Pradesh also.
He said that rail was reached not only up to Daulatpur Chowk but its electrification has also completed. He said that today Railways have been modernized with facilities like smart coaches, Vande Bharat, bio toilets etc.
He said that with the redevelopment of Amb-Andaura, this station would also witness extensive changes.On the occasion, the Governor honoured 18 students of local schools, who excelled in various events during Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
MLA from Chintpurni, Sudarshan Singh, MLA from Gagret, Chaitanya Sharma, MLA from Una, Sadar Satpal Singh Satti, Former Minister, Virender Kanwar, Former MLAs, Railway Officers, Secretary to the Governor, Rajesh Sharma, Deputy Commissioner Una, Raghav Sharma, Superintendent of Police, Arjit Sen and other prominent people were also present on the occasion.