SAMBALPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay foundation stone for redevelopment of Sambalpur railway station and dedicate a couple of rail projects during his visit to the district on Saturday.
The East Coast Railway (ECoR) on Thursday informed that PM Modi will lay the stone for revamp of Sambalpur station. Under the project, the railway station will undergo a massive transformation. It will be equipped with several modern facilities including 20 elevators and 21 escalators. Besides, food court, retails, ATM, ‘one station one product’ stalls, play zone for kids, pharmacy and several other such facilities will be made available at the station. The project will be implemented at a cost of Rs 348 crore.
During his Sambalpur tour, the PM will also dedicate Sambalpur-Talcher doubling line (168 km) and Jhartarbha-Sonepur new line (21.7 km) of Khurda-Balangir project to the nation. Taken up at a cost of Rs 1,539 crore, the Sambalpur-Talcher doubling line will help augment transportation of coal from the mining belt of Angul to heavy industries operating near Jharsuguda and other states. The project will also enhance the line capacity of the rail link between western and eastern Odisha.
Similarly, Jhartarbha-Sonepur railway line, a part of Khurda-Balangir new line project, will be the shortest rail link between the two stations. The proposed railway alignment will be useful in growth of industries. It is also a socio-economic project that will connect several interior areas of Odisha with the urban centres.
On the day, Modi will flag off the new Puri-Sonepur-Puri weekly express via Talcher. This train will be the first to Sonepur district. It will connect four western Odisha districts of Sonepur, Balangir, Bargarh and Sambalpur besides benefitting students, farmers, pilgrims and traders of the region.
The PM will visit Sambalpur to inaugurate the permanent campus of Indian Institute of Management-Sambalpur (IIM-S) at Basantpur. Apart from inaugurating and laying foundation stones of several new projects, he is also expected to address a huge public meeting at Remed.
Pradhan invites Guv, CM to IIM-S event
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has invited Governor Raghubar Das and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to the inauguration of the new campus of Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur (IIM-S) on February 3. In separate letters to the Governor and CM, Pradhan said the phase-1 construction of the permanent campus of IIM-S has been completed and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate it on February 3. “I, on behalf of the IIM Sambalpur, am delighted to invite you to grace the occasion. I shall be grateful, if you would kindly accept the invitation and grace the occasion with your benign presence,” Pradhan said. He said IIM-Sambalpur is one of the seven third generation IIMs set up after 2015.