Suresh Prabhu to flag off Purvottar Samparka Kranti Express today

Special correspondent

SILCHAR, Feb 18: Union Railway Minister Suresh Pravakar Prabhu will flag off Purvottar Samparka Kranti Special train from here on Saturday which will facilitate passengers to travel all the way to the tiol capital New Delhi. It will be a once a week train. According to a source of the railway station, divisiol railway mager Neeraj Kumar along with other officials has reached here to see the necessary preparations and arrangements for the flagging off ceremony which will take place on platform number 1.

 Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu will give green sigl for two goods trains between 2 pm and 2.30 pm, one to Agartala and the other to Jiribam preceded by the iuguration of the Purvottar Samparka Kranti Special. According to the source, the special train will have 15 bogies comprising 1 first class AC, 4 AC 3 tier, 4 sleeper class, 4 general compartments and 2 seating cum luggage rakes (SLR). After the introduction of daily special passenger train to Guwahati on November 21, people of Barak Valley have been pressing for the long distance trains to connect Kolkata and New Delhi.

 Accordingly, Kanchanjanga Express was introduced from February 1 which is running thrice a week. In fact, this express train which origites from Guwahati has been extended to Silchar. Though the Purvottar Samparka Kranti Special will run once a week, it is considered to be yet another move of the Railway Ministry to respond to the aspirations of the people of this valley. Gradually, after all the basic and necessary infrastructures at this station are built up, trains to Kolkata and New Delhi are likely to run daily.

 With the coming to power of NDA Government at the Centre, uni-gauge conversion of BG hanging for the last 18 years was completed. Sadly enough, 8 railway ministers have come and gone under different regimes, but there has been no progress. Prime Minister rendra Modi after being apprised of the bottlenecks and hindrances created by the infamous politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus, he laid priority for its time bound completion. The work was taken up on war footing and the BG became a reality.

 For double lining of BG track from Guwahati to Lumding, Rs.800 crore has been sanctioned for the same, a competent source says. Once the double track is completed, this will pave the way for faster and easier movement of both passenger and goods trains. The NF Railway officials and employees have put in all their efforts to bring Barak Valley on railway map of India. Though Purvottar Samparka Kranti runs thrice a week from Guwahati, for technical and other reasons it will have a restricted run of one day from here. There is also the possibility of increasing the number of bogies to 21 in near future, the source adds.

 Quite turally, the travelling public of this valley are happy with the introduction of long distance train. Dr. Rajdeep Roy, BJP state general secretary, said Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu after flagging off the train will meet party workers of Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi and Dima Hasao districts to discuss organizatiol matters. The meeting will include the strategy to meet the challenge of the opposition Congress and AIUDF and at the same time strengthen the organization from the micro booth level. Dr. Roy said he would also be accorded a civic reception by Silchar Municipal Board.