GUWAHATI: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dedicated to the nation several railway projects including the historic Kosi Rail Mega Bridge through video-conference at about 1-00 pm.
Phagu Chauhan, Governor of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister, Bihar, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law and Justice, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology along with many other ministers were also present on this occasion.
Apart from Kosi Rail Mega Bridge, the Prime Minister also inaugurated other rail projects related to passenger facilities for the benefit of the people. These include a new railway bridge on the Kiul River, two new railway lines, 5 Electrification projects, one Electric Locomotive Shed at Barauni and 3rd Line Project between Barh – Bakhtiyarpur.
The dedication of the Kosi Rail Mahasetu is a watershed moment in the history of this area and the entire region connecting to the North East of India. In 1887, a meter gauge link was built in between Nirmali and Bhaptiahi (Saraigarh).
During the heavy flood and severe Indo – Nepal earthquake in 1934, the rail link was washed away and thereafter due to meandering nature of river Kosi no attempt was made to restore this Rail link for long period. This new bridge will improve connectivity to the Northeast part of India.
The Kosi Mega Bridge line project was sanctioned by Government of India during 2003-04. The Kosi Rail Mahasetu is 1.9 KM long and its construction cost is Rs. 516 Crore. This bridge is of strategic importance along the India-Nepal border. The project was completed during the COVID-Pandemic where the migrant labourers also participated in its completion.
The dedication of this project will fulfill the 86-year-old dream and the long wait of the people of the region.
Along with the dedication of the Mahasetu, the Prime Minister also flagged off the Supaul- Raghopura DEMU train from the Supaul Station. Once the regular train service begins, this would prove to be highly beneficial to the Supaul, Arariya and Saharsa districts of Bihar. It would also make it easy for long-distance travel to Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai for the people of the region.
The PM also inaugurated two New Line projects at Hajipur – Ghoswar – Vaishali and Islampur – Nateshar and the Karnauti – Bakhtiyarpur link bypass and 3rd line between Barh -Bakhiyarpur.
He later inaugurated the Railway Electrification projects of Katihar – New Jalpaiguri, Muzaffarpur – Sitamarhi, Samastipur – Darbhanga – Jaynagar, Samastipur – Khagaria, Bhagalpur – Shivnarayanpur Sections by flagging off train services.