Katra, June 6 (JKNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that with the blessing of Mata Vaishno Devi, the Kashmir Valley has now been fully connected to India’s rail network, terming it a celebration of India’s unity and willpower.
Addressing the gathering at Katra after inaugurating the Chenab and Anji bridges and flagging off two Vande Bharat trains, the Prime Minister said, “Today’s programme is a huge celebration of India’s unity and willpower. With the blessings of Mata Vaishno Devi, the valley of Kashmir has been connected to India’s railway network. While describing Mata Bharti, we have always said with reverence, ‘Kashmir to Kanyakumari’. This has now become a reality for the railway network too.”
He said the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project is not just a name, but “an identity of the new power of Jammu and Kashmir a proclamation of India’s rising might”.
“I had the honour of inaugurating the Chenab and Anji bridges a while ago. Today J&K has got two new Vande Bharat trains. Projects worth ₹46,000 crore have been launched that will speed up the development of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
PM called the completion of the USBRL project the “fulfilment of a dream of lakhs of people in J&K”. He added, “All the good work is indeed left for me to complete. It is our government’s good fortune that this project picked up momentum during our tenure and reached completion. It was a very challenging project, but our government always chooses to challenge the challenge itself.”
While walking on the Chenab and Anji bridges, he said, he experienced “the lofty aspirations of India and the unmatched skill and courage of our engineers and workers”.
“The Chenab Bridge is even taller than the Eiffel Tower. These bridges are living symbols of India’s strength on the inaccessible Pir Panjal hills. This is the roar of India’s bright future. Kashmir’s apples will now reach big markets across the country at lower costs and in time,” the PM added.
He said that over the past 11 years of the BJP-led government at the Centre, more than 25 crore people have been lifted out of poverty.
“These years have been dedicated to the poor. Those who consider themselves experts in the social system, those who are immersed in the politics of caste and backward-forward equations, those who have always played politics in the name of Dalits they should look at the outcome of our schemes. The people who received these benefits were Dalits, tribals, and the backward communities who once lived in slums and forests,” the PM said.
On the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, the Prime Minister said, “Unfortunately, our neighbouring country is not only against humanity but also against the livelihood of the poor. The attack in Pahalgam was an assault on ‘insaniyat’ and ‘Kashmiriyat’. Its aim was to incite riots in India and to sabotage the livelihood of hard-working Kashmiris by targeting tourists.”
He recalled Adil, who was killed in the attack, saying, “Adil had gone to Pahalgam to work to support his family. But terrorists killed him too. However, the people of Jammu and Kashmir responded with courage and sent a strong message to the terrorist mindset across the world.”
He said J&K had seen such prolonged destruction that people had stopped dreaming and had accepted terrorism as destiny. “But we have brought them out of that. The people now want to see J&K become a destination for film shoots and a hub of sports,” the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi said, “The Amarnath Yatra will begin from June 3, and we see the excitement of Eid all around us. Despite the Pahalgam attack, Jammu and Kashmir’s development will not stop. This is Narendra Modi’s promise. If anyone tries to block the youth of J&K from fulfilling their dreams, toh us baadha ko pehle Modi ka saamna karna padega (then that obstacle will have to face Modi first).” (JKNS)
