President Droupadi Murmu accompanied by Tripura chief minister Manik Saha on October 13 flagged off the extension of the Guwahati-Kolkata-Guwahati train up to Agartala and the extension of Agartala-Jiribam-Agartala Jan Shatabdi Express up to Khongsang of Manipur from Agartala station.
Droupadi Murmu hoped the extension of express trains’ service by the Northern Frontier Railway (NFR) would further strengthen the surface connectivity in Northeastern states.
Highlighting the development initiative of the respective state governments of the region with the support of the centre, she believed that the Northeast would soon turn into a preferred destination for the people of the other parts.
All means of communication – highways, internet ways, airways and railways have gotten a boost in the region in recent years and the transformation of the Northeast is quite visible now the pace of development will get impetus in the coming days.
The region, especially Tripura, has great importance to get easy access to Southeast Asia and more progress in infrastructure in the region are on cards, she pointed out.
President Droupadi Murmu flagged off Agartala-Khongsang Janshatabdi Express and Agartala-Kolkata Express from Agartala Railway station.
The trains connecting Tripura to Assam, West Bengal and Manipur will boost connectivity and tourism in the North East region. pic.twitter.com/UgXvISF1JK
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) October 13, 2022
The president expressed satisfaction over the development activities in the state and the region as well while urging the government to focus on the last persons of the society so that the fruits of development and indicators of growth would be more vibrant and meaningful.
CM Manik Saha described the development of the Narendra Modi-led government at the centre for Tripura over the last 7-8 years for Northeast specifically for Tripura.
He said there was a time when moving out from the state was the biggest challenge, as only air connectivity was the most sustainable mode of transportation.
The people used to avail strenuous buses for more than a day through high terrain to Guwahati to continue the forward journey. Now, the Modi government has provided trains for all major Indian cities and local train service and gradually the fleets are increasing day by day,” Saha said.
According to NFR officials, the weekly special trains with 14 coaches will stop at New Karimganj, New Haflong, Guwahati, Goalpara Town, Kokrajhar, New Coochbehar, Kishanganj, Katwa, and Bandel before reaching Kolkata.
The express train will leave Agartala every Wednesday morning and arrive in Kolkata in the afternoon the following day.
Every Sunday, the train would leave Kolkata in the opposite direction and arrive in Agartala on Tuesday night.
Murmu arrived here on Wednesday and inaugurated Tripura Judicial Academy, laid the foundation for National Law University at Narsinghgarh and six other projects.
She was accorded a warm reception by Agartala Municipal Corporation in the evening. She left for Guwahati by an Air Force craft onward to Delhi in the afternoon.
