By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
The Rishikesh-Karanprayag rail project has gained momentum with the Indian Railways on Thursday claiming 94 percent of the work on the major tunnels have been completed.
This information was given by Moradabad DRM Vineeta Srivastava to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami during a meeting in Dehradun. Detailed discussions were held regarding the strengthening of rail infrastructure in the state and future requirements, an official statement said.
Srivastava said the 27.45-kilometer new railway line project connecting Roorkee to Deoband has been commissioned, under which new railway stations have been constructed at Banhera Khas and Jhabrera.
She further said the work on the Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail project is progressing rapidly. She said the 125.20-km long project includes 12 stations, 35 bridges, and 17 tunnels. She said 94 percent of the work on the major tunnels has been completed.
The DRM also informed that redevelopment work is being carried out at Harrawala, Roorkee, and Kotdwar railway stations in the state under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister directed that all preparations related to rail and passenger facilities be ensured in a timely manner in view of the proposed Ardh Kumbh next year, so that better facilities can be provided to pilgrims.
The Rishikesh-Karanprayag project was sanctioned in 2010-11. Anticipated cost of the project is Rs 16,216 crore. Rishikesh to Virbhadra (5.7 km) section has been commissioned in March, 2020.
Land acquisition and Forest clearance in entire project have been completed. ‘No Objection Certificates’ have been received from all the Gram Sabhas located along the line of the Railway project as prescribed in the guidelines of Forest Right Act-2006 of Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MOEF & CC).