Katra in J&K to be linked to Delhi via Amritsar through expressway: MoS Jitendra Singh

JAMMU: The Katra town in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, commonly known as Katra Vaishno Devi, will soon be connected to Delhi via Amritsar through an expressway, Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh said.

"This will not only make the road journey much more comfortable but also considerably reduce the travel time between these important towns", Singh said while speaking at a public gathering in Katra today.

Work on the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway will begin soon and this will be the India's longest expressway passing through Haryana, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir covering a distance of 600 kms and costing more than Rs 15,000 crores, he said.

"One of the major benefits from it would be that travel time from Katra to Delhi which presently takes around 11 to 12 hours will come down by at least five to six hours", Singh said.

He said that once this expressway becomes functional, it will give Katra the distinction of being among those few destinations in India which will get connected through the highest class of roadways in the country.

He thanked Union Minister for surface transport Nitin Gadkari for his support to this project.

Singh said that soon after the Narendra Modi government was sworn in on May 26, 2014, one of the first important programmes attended by the Prime Minister was the inauguration of the historic Railway Station of Katra Vaishmo Devi.

"This not only indicates the high importance that the present government and Prime Minister Modi personally attach to the development of Katra as a centre of religious tourism, but also as a matter of faith", he said.

He said that the moment Prime Minister Modi's chopper had landed at Katra for the inauguration of Railway Station, the first thing observed by him was the potential of this place to be developed as an important solar station.

Singh said that the recent extension of the Chennai-New Delhi Andaman Express train up to Katra has only testified the grand connectivity plans that country's government envisages for this holy town.

"Very soon, more DMU trains will also be introduced between Katra and Jammu", he said.

Responding to people's complaint about inadequate maintenance of the roads within the Katra town, Jitendra Singh said, since the matter pertains to State government, he will take it up with the concerned authorities and impress upon them the importance of constant superior maintenance of these roads considering the fact that Katra is not only a national destination, but it is one of the most important international destinations in India visited by pilgrims from all over the world.