Bhubaneswar: Puri-Koraput-Puri Express will connect Shree Khetra Puri with Sabara Srikhetra Koraput, two important centres of Jagannath culture, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said, while flagging off the new train from Puri station on Monday in the presence of Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.Majhi described the launch of the train ahead of Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra as a wonderful gift from the railway minister to devotees. He said the train will run thrice a week and connect eastern, western and southern Odisha, offering passengers a comfortable travel experience.He said the train would be especially beneficial for people from southern and western Odisha travelling to Puri for Lord Jagannath’s darshan or to Bhubaneswar for other purposes. It will also give market access to Koraput coffee.After Majhi requested a similar train for north Odisha, Vaishnaw announced that such a service would also be introduced for the region.Majhi and Vaishnaw also reviewed the re-development work at Puri station and the railways’ preparations for the upcoming Rath Yatra to ensure safe, seamless and comfortable travel for lakhs of devotees expected during the festival.They assessed railway arrangements, including crowd management, passenger movement and operational preparedness, a holding area for more than 30,000 devotees, food arrangements and additional ticket counters at Puri railway station. Vaishnaw announced that 300 special trains would run during Rath Yatra.Later, the chief minister and the railway minister travelled to Berhampur station to jointly flag off the daily service of the Berhampur-Udhna (Surat) Amrit Bharat Express. The train, which earlier ran weekly from Berhampur, also known as the silk city, through western Odisha to Udhna in Gujarat, began operating daily from Monday.Majhi said Odisha shares deep emotional, cultural and economic ties with Surat. Lakhs of workers and businessmen from Odisha live there and play an important role in Surat’s textile and diamond industries. He said the train would greatly benefit them.Majhi said along with the expansion of Gopalpur port, a major new port would be established at Bahuda near Berhampur in the coming days. He also promised to develop Berhampur into a ‘Greater Berhampur City’ and construct a six-lane road linking Berhampur and Jeypore.At Berhampur station, Vaishnaw said the station would be redeveloped at an investment of Rs 300 crore and that work had already begun. (With inputs from Hrusikesh Mohanty in Berhampur)
