Indian Railways (IR) has made plans to revamp the railway station of Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minster Narendra Modi, to meet international standards.
Varanasi, which is situated on the banks of the Ganges, is one of the two constituencies from where Modi fielded his candidacy and won during the general elections previous month.
The city is an significant centre of the IR. Traffic from all over the country goes through this station which makes it a very important one. A lot of work is planned for this station and still more sanctioned; rail authorities plan on making it fit to meet international standards. And for this purpose, officials from the IR were present on the station for an inspection on Wednesday.
General Manager (GM) of Northern Central Railways (NCR) Pradeep Kumar said that "We will work towards making an integrated plan for Varanasi so as to make rail travel much smoother in the coming years. The aim is to make it comfortable for the rail users ultimately."
Kumar said that though the station has seen a lot of changes over the years, the IR has more in store. The main issue to deal with is smooth movement in the rail yards which often becomes a bottle neck owing to the large number of trains coming through the station.
A plan for INR 25 crore rupees has been sanctioned for yard remodeling while another plan of INR 250 crore rupees is already in place. Apart from that there are issues of cleanliness, lighting at the platforms and minor repairs.
But since Varanasi is an important holy city and is being seen as a keen tourist destination, there is a lot more in store for this station.
Pradeep Kumar said that "There is a plan from the Ministry of Tourism for select important stations of India the expenses for which will be meted out by the Ministry and the railways. Amenities for passengers will be improved on those stations. Varanasi is included on the list."