Jammu\/Srinagar, Jun 10: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday took his maiden ride in the recently inaugurated Vande Bharat train from Srinagar to Katra township and said he was overwhelmed to see Kashmir finally getting connected to the country\u2019s rail network.<\/p>\n
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said he hopes the intended Amarnath pilgrims will use the train and come in large numbers to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine.Fine dining reservations
\nThe annual yatra is scheduled to commence in the Kashmir Himalayas on July 3. On June 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off two Vande Bharat trains from Katra to Srinagar and Srinagar to Katra, marking the completion of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country.
\nAbdullah, wearing a round sun-visor hat, boarded the train at Nowgam Railway Station in Srinagar this morning and was received by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and Jammu NC president, Rattan Lal Gupta, in Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.
\n\u201cMy heart is overwhelmed and my eyes filled with tears on seeing Kashmir finally getting connected with the country\u2019s rail network. I congratulate the engineers and the workers for making it happen,\u201d Abdullah told reporters after deboarding.
\nHe called the train the biggest victory for the people as it will ease travel, boost trade and tourism, and also strengthen \u201clove and friendship\u201d between the two regions.Fine dining reservations
\n\u201cWe hope that the yatris from across the country will use the facility to turn up in large numbers for darshan at Amarnath cave shrine during the upcoming pilgrimage,\u201d Abdullah said.
\nChief Minister Omar Abdullah\u2019s sons, Zamir and Zahir, J-K minister Satish Sharma, chief minister\u2019s advisor Nasir Aslam Wani, and National Conference chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq also accompanied Abdulah on his train ride.
\n\u201cTook our first train ride from Srinagar to Katra truly impressed! The journey crosses the iconic Anji bridge and weaves through stunning tunnels. A remarkable experience,\u201d Sadiq wrote on X, also sharing some pictures of the trip.
\nAbdullah said the train will help transport horticulture produce from Kashmir to different markets in the country, including the far-off Kanyakumari, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bihar.
\nEarlier, in Srinagar, the NC chief said, \u201cI am very happy that I am travelling by this train to Katra today. It has been the biggest benefit for us.\u201d He said the train would be a reliable transport link for the people of the valley.
\n\u201cThe road (between Srinagar and Jammu) gets closed sometimes and the airlines start fleecing the people by jacking up the prices. With this train, people will be saved from that,\u201d he said.Fine dining reservations
\nAbdullah said the railway link will also prove to be beneficial to the horticulture sector in Kashmir as the produce will reach the markets faster.
\n\u201cIt will also benefit tourists visiting Kashmir,\u201d he added. (Agencies)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jammu\/Srinagar, Jun 10: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday took his maiden ride in the recently inaugurated Vande Bharat train from Srinagar to Katra township and said he was overwhelmed to see Kashmir finally getting connected to the country\u2019s rail network. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said he hopes the intended Amarnath […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4319","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jammu"},"yoast_head":"\n