Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the Jaynagar-Kurtha railway service between India and Nepal at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday.
After a short video about the railway service was played, Modi and Deuba jointly flagged off the inaugural run of the cross-border passenger train services between Jaynagar (India) and Kurtha (Nepal).
Also Read| Open borders between India, Nepal should not be misused: PM Modi's message
Addressing the event, prime minister Modi said, “Friends, Nepal prime minister Deuba ji and I agreed to give priority to business and all types of cross border connectivity. The beginning of the Jaynagar-Kurtha railway service is a part of this.”
The Jaynagar-Kurtha section is part of the 68.7km Jayanagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail link. The link was built under the Modi government's grant assistance of NPR 8.77 billion.
The railway track of the section is 35 kilometres long and it is the first section of the rail line between the two countries. It was completed in 2021 at ₹619 crore.
Taking to Twitter, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the rail link is a landmark in cross-border connectivity.
{{/usCountry}}Taking to Twitter, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the rail link is a landmark in cross-border connectivity.
{{/usCountry}}Apart from this inauguration, India and Nepal also inaugurated RuPay in the latter country, and the Solu Corridor 132 KV Power Transmission Line and Substation.
“Deuba ki is an old friend of India. As the PM, this is his fifth visit to India. He has played an important role in developing India-Nepal relations. The friendship between India & Nepal, the relation between our people - such an example can't be seen anywhere else in the world,” prime minister Modi said during the event.
Modi added that India has been and will be a firm companion in Nepal's journey of peace, prosperity and development.
Nepal prime minister Deuba said, “I truly admire your love and affection for Nepal and the Nepali people and my visit today will further enforce these innate sentiments.”
Deuba also appreciated the Modi government's effective management in battling the Covid-19 pandemic.