Cheers in U'khand over nod for Karanprayag line

The Railway Budget today brought cheers in Uttarakhand with Railway Minister Mamta Banerjee giving green signal to a new rail line between Rishikesh and Karanprayag in the hilly Garhwal region.

Other projects which have been included in the budget are fresh survey for the Bageshwar-Tanakpur line, a new rail line between Kalsi and Dehra Dun and some new trains to the hill state.

“We welcome the railway budget as some our demands have been accepted,” said Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

However, Nishank also expressed disappointment over other demands like rail link between Muzaffar Nagar-Roorkee not getting any space in the budget.

The demand for Rishikesh-Karanprayag rail line is very old. Recently, Satpal Maharaj and the chief minister have strongly taken up the issue with the railway minister.

The new rail link would open up new links to some of the country’s top religious shrines like Badrinath and tourist sites like the ‘Valley of Flowers.’