Samablpur: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday flagged off Sambalpur-Darshan Nagar-Sambalpur Astha Special Train from Sambalpur railway station in Odisha.
The train will carry 1512 devotees from Sambalpur to Darshan Nagar. “The wait of 500 years got over on January 22 when PM Modi, after 11-day ‘anushthan’, did ‘Pran Pratishtha’. There is great enthusiasm among people across the country to visit the newly-built Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. I would again like to thank the Railways for the train with 20 sleeper coaches, which will allow devotees from western Odisha to have darshan of Ram Lalla. The train will pass through Jharsuguda, Rourkela and the neighbouring Jharkhand before reaching Ayodhya tomorrow,” Dharmendra told reporters at the Sambalpur railway station.
“I am here today to meet and take blessings from people of western Odisha who are travelling by this train. I will also get darshan of Ram Lalla through them,” he added.
The Union Minister is also scheduled to inaugurate the Robotics Centre at Vedic International School at Pabpali Sason and the first Skill India Centre at Majhipalli here.
Later, he will join inauguration and foundation stone laying of PM Shri Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalay by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing from New Delhi.
PM Modi is also also scheduled to lay foundation stones of various infrastructure projects, including administrative building at Central University of Odisha (CUO), Koraput, with a total project cost of Rs 129 crore through video conferencing.
Later in the day, Dharmendra will attend the launch of Rashtriya Udyamita Vikash Pariyojana at Tapaswini Hall in Sambalpur.
He will also attend the release of commemorative postage stamps on legendary poets of Odisha and cultural heritage of Western Odisha by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, from Biju Patnaik Auditorium, Sambalpur University, Burla.
In the evening, he will visit Jharsuguda Head Post Office Heritage Building at Thana Chhak, sources said.
The slew of events in Sambalpur assumes significance amid speculation that the Unions Education Minister might contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from this constituency.
