Piyush Goyal reviews last mile connectivity plans for Char Dham projects

Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday reviewed the last mile connectivity plans for Char Dham projects and said pilgrims must get fast, safe and comfortable last leg connectivity.

The Minister directed concerned officials to do a detailed review of all alternatives keeping in view the comfort and safety of citizens. He said that options of all last leg connectivity be examined along with detailed cost implications for the entire project upto completion.

He said that in order to cater to the need of tourism and to make it convenient for the pilgrims to reach the temple safely and timely, a comprehensive planning for project needs to be done.

"Pilgrims must get fast, safe and comfortable last leg connectivity with the Char Dhams," he said.

An official release said that the Final Location Survey (FLS) for new BG rail connectivity to Char Dham - Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath - is near completion.

It said Kedarnath and Badrinath Rail connectivity will take off from Karnaprayag station which is part of 125 km long Rishikesh-Karnaprayag new BG Rail line project under construction at full swing.

Gangotri and Yamunotri Rail connectivity will take off from existing Doiwala Station.

As per Char Dham BG Rail connectivity survey, the terminal stations of new BG Rail line are terminating at Barkot, Uttarkashi, Soneprayag and Joshimath which are short of Char Dham temples due to steep terrain and limitation of BG ruling gradients.

"In order to cater to the need of tourism and to make it convenient for the pilgrims to reach the temples safely and timely, Reconnaissance Engineering Survey(RES) for connecting new BG Railway terminal stations to Dhams (temples) is being carried out with an objective to look for suitable system which is environment-friendly, safe and at the same time a tourist attraction," the release said.

It said a large number of pilgrims across the country flock to Char Dhams and a large number of foreign and domestic tourist are attracted to trekking and sight seeing in the state of Uttarakhand.

"The existing road connectivity travels through fragile mountainous slopes and suffers from serious handicaps of load, capacity, safety and speed. The rail connectivity to Char Dhams will make the travel much safer, economical, comfortable, environment friendly and all weather," the release said.

( With inputs from ANI )

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