Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced a direct train service between Odisha’s Puri and Nabadwip in West Bengal.
The new rail route fulfils a long-standing demand of connecting the two holy cities – Puri where the sacred Jagannath temple is located and Nabadwip, the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Modi, who was in Odisha earlier in the day
, flew to Tarakeswar, in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, where he was the main attraction at a function to celebrate ‘Paschimbanga Divas’ (West Bengal Day).
The Suvendu Adhikari-helmed state government chose Tarakeswar for the occasion because of its historic significance associated with Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
The Prime Minister, on his maiden visit to Bengal after the BJP’s historic Assembly election victory last month, unveiled a grand development package worth Rs 820 crore, across railways, agriculture, rural development, fisheries and animal husbandry sectors.
PM Kisan Yojana instalment released
Modi also released the 23rd instalment of the PM Kisan Yojana, a flagship farmer welfare scheme of the country.
More than Rs 18,880 crore in financial assistance is being transferred to bank accounts of over 9.44 crore farmers. Out of this, Rs 692.86 crore was disbursed on Saturday to more than 34.64 lakh beneficiaries in Odisha.
On Monday, Modi will take part in yoga display at Kolkata’s iconic Red Road on the occasion of International Yoga Day.