A multipronged security plan has been put in place for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Friday to inaugurate the much-awaited Kashmir rail link and also dedicate to the nation projects worth over Rs 46,000 crore in Katra, officials said.
This will be his first visit to UT post-operation Sindoor, launched on May 6-7 by the Indian armed forces against terror camps in Pakistan, in response to the deadly April 22 attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in Baisaran Valley of Pahalgam.
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Chenab Bridge and India’s first cable-stayed Anji bridge, the symbol of India’s engineering excellence, before flagging off Vande Bharat trains to mark the completion of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway link (USBRL) that will provide direct train connectivity to the valley.
Modi will also lay the foundation stone, inaugurate and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth over Rs 46,000 crore at Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district.
The 272 km long USBRL project, constructed at a cost of around Rs 43,780 crore, includes 36 tunnels (spanning 119 km) and 943 bridges.
The project establishes all-weather, seamless rail connectivity between Kashmir and the rest of the country, aiming to transform regional mobility and drive socio-economic integration.
Prime Minister Modi will also flag off two Vande Bharat Express trains from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra to Srinagar and back. They will offer a swift, comfortable, and reliable travel option for residents, tourists, and pilgrims, among others.
Heavy security deployments have been put in place in and around the venues with the latest state-of-the-art gadgets, including aerial surveillance equipment to keep vigil, the officials said. The security grid on the borders and the hinterland has been further beefed up to check the infiltration and movement of anti-national and subversive elements.
The area domination and raids on the houses of suspected persons, including Over Ground Workers and relatives of terrorists operating from across the border, have also been intensified as part of the security arrangements, the officials said.
The deputy Inspector General of the Jammu-Kathua-Samba range, Shiv Kumar, directed the officers on the ground to remain vigilant. The officials said several roads heading towards Katra Stadium, the venue of Modi’s public rally, may be shut, or there may be traffic diversions on Friday.
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