Baripada: On the second day of her 3-day visit to Odisha, President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday flagged off three new trains, connecting her native town Rairangpur, at Badampahar railway station in Mayurbhanj district.
The trains are Badampahar-Tata Nagar MEMU, Badampahar-Rourkela Weekly Express and Badampahar-Shalimar Weekly Express. Prior to this, there was not a single mail/express train to Rairangpur station.
Governor Raghubar Das, Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Bishweswar Tudu and state minister and local MP Sudam Marndi were present on the occasion.
The President also laid the foundation stone for redevelopment of Badampahar railway station and inaugurated the new Rairangpur Postal Division.
She is scheduled to board Badampahar Shalimar Express and travel 32 km to Rairangpur with 200 school students. This is first time the President will be travelling in a normal AC train instead of a special Presidential train.
Later in the evening, she will grace the 15th annual convocation of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Burla.
RAILWAYS STATEMENT
>> Shalimar-Badampahar Weekly Express will be the first-ever express train connecting Shalimar near Kolkata in West Bengal with Badampahar in Odisha.
>> The second weekly express train will connect the mineral rich areas of Badampahar with Rourkela, the Steel City of India.
>> Tatanagar-Badampahar MEMU will be important for daily commuters and will run six days a week except Sunday. This will be an additional service between Badampahar and Tatanagar, an important industrial city of Jharkhand.
These trains will pass through mineral rich areas of Odisha, industrial areas of Jharkhand and will facilitate faster connectivity with the State of West Bengal. People from nearby areas will also be able to avail this train service for visiting Kolkata and Howrah for various purposes. Students and job aspirants of Badampahar / Rairangpur area will have easy access to the premier educational institutes and corporate houses in West Bengal.
Better connectivity will boost the growth and development of Mayurbhanj district as these new trains will encourage tourists from West Bengal and Jharkhand to explore and enjoy the picturesque landscape and dense jungles.
