PUDUCHERRY: Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti V Somanna announced that works for a new railway line between Tindivanam and Puducherry, via Villianur, will commence soon. The initial works for the Puducherry-Cuddalore railway line are also in progress, he said. A railway overbridge will be constructed on Cuddalore Road near AFT Ground, work for which will start in two months, he added.
During a press briefing at BJP Puducherry head office on Sunday, Somanna said the 140-year-old Puducherry Railway Station is being upgraded for Rs 93 crore under the Amrit Bharat scheme. Karaikal and Mahe stations will also be redeveloped as Amrit Stations, he added.
In the last 10 years, Somanna said, Rs 280-crore-worth railway projects were carried out in Puducherry and 100 % electrification has been completed. The 23.55-km railway line work under way between Karaikal and Peralam will be completed shortly, he said, adding the extension of the Trichy-Nagore train to Karaikal benefits hundreds of passengers.
Somanna said the Rs 6,362 crore allocated in the budget for TN railway projects is seven times more than the funds allocated annually between 2009 and 2014. In the last 10 years, he said, 1,302 kilometres of railway tracks have been laid in Tamil Nadu, and 2,152 kilometres of railway lines have been electrified. Railway projects worth Rs 33,467 crore are currently under way in the state, and 77 railway stations are being developed under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme, he said. Earlier that day, Somanna inspected the ongoing developmental works at the Puducherry Railway Station.
The minister said under the Jal Jeevan Mission, Puducherry has achieved a 100% target in providing tap water connections to rural households. Ninety-one villages of union territory have been declared open defecation-free under the Swachh Bharat (Grameen) Mission, for which Rs 300 crore has been allocated to tamil Nadu, he added.
During the inspection, Assembly Speaker R Selvam, Minister A Namassivayam, MP S Selvaganabathy, MLAs Ashok Babu, VP Ramalingam, and railway officials including Southern Railway AGM Kaushal Kishore, CMO for Construction Amit Kumar Manuwal, Trichy Division DRM MS Anbalagan, and Chief Engineer K Ravi Kumar were present. At the party office, BJP in-charge Nirmal Kumar Surana was present.