Udhampur : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has dedicated the much-delayed Jammu-Udhampur railway link to the nation by flagging off the Uttar Sampark Kranti Express train between Udhampur and New Delhi. Waving the green flag, the Prime Minister said that the ambitious project of connecting Kashmir valley by rail has moved a significant step further with the launch of the Uttar Sampark Kranti Express on the Udhampur-Jammu track. Singh expressed confidence that after completion of this most difficult part of the Jammu-Baramulla rail track, the first train linking Kashmir valley to the rest of the country will run in 2007. He said the Government had earmakred Rs 1000 crore for the ambitious project which is aimed at boosting development of the state through trade and tourism.

The Prime Minister announced that the railway track between Jammu and Jalandhar in Punjab will be doubled as part of the national project. "These developmental projects are speeded up to pave way for progress of the state. We will leave no stone unturned," he said asserting that the Government was determined to usher in development in the state braving terrorism and other security challenges. The foundation stone of the rail link from Udhampur, housing the Army's Northern Command, was laid by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1983. The line, constructed at a cost of Rs 515 crore, passes through militancy-affected mountainous terrain with 20 per cent of the track going through tunnels, including a 10-km long one, the longest in the country.

"We are committed to usher in a new era in J and K so that people of the state get happiness and prosperity," said the Prime Minister, who spoke in chaste Urdu at the function attended by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, J and K Governor S K Sinha, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma. "We hope this train will help in the economic development of J and K," Singh said, pointing out that it was a cheaper and easier way of trade and travel by tourists as well as Vaishnodevi pilgrims. The Prime Minister said that the Government wanted to make people of the state partners in the development. He asked the State Government to amend its Constitution to allow benefits of the 73rd and 74th Amendments in the Indian Constitution, giving more powers to panchayats, to reach villagers of the state.

Earlier, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said that the flagging off of the Uttar Sampark Kranti Express fulfils the UPA Government's promise to link Udhampur with the rest of the country by train. Union Urban Development Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said this rail line will make travel to Vaishno Devi easier. The Chief Minister said the rail link would help develop the area. The track links Jammu and Udhampur through Bajalta, Sangar, Marwal and Ramnagar stations and crossing the mighty Tawi river and its tributaries Sardan, Ringhal, Gambhir and Dudhar. (PTI)