Guwahati, Nov 1: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday hailed the Union government’s decision to connect Guwahati with the national capital by a bullet train, and said the Centre “always listens” to what people want.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had announced on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the ‘North Corridor’ of the bullet train project, which will connect Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Patna, Siliguri, and extend to Guwahati.
“Guwahati-Delhi in under 8 hours? Yes! The extension of the Northern bullet train corridor to Guwahati is a pivotal moment for East India,” Sarma said in a post on social media.
The CM expressed gratitude to Modi and Vaishnaw for the project.
“The corridor was initially meant to end at Siliguri. After my written request and meeting with Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw ji in July, he saw merit in our proposal and approved its extension into the North East. This is what a government that listens and delivers looks like,” Sarma said.
As Assam prepares for “a new wave of high-tech industries”, fast and affordable flight-like connectivity to Delhi and two other state capitals will open up enormous opportunities for businesses and livelihoods, he said.
“A bullet train to Assam once seemed so far-fetched that it never even became a public demand. Today, what we scarcely dared to dream is becoming reality,” Sarma asserted.
Taking a dig at the opposition, he added, “Isiliye, Modi kahin nahi jayega (That is why Modi is going nowhere)!”. (PTI)
