Multi-tier security measures in place ahead of PM's J&K visit

A multi-tier security set-up has been put in place for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Friday to inaugurate the much-awaited Kashmir rail link and also dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth over ₹46,000 crore in Katra, officials said on Thursday.

- Press Trust of India

JAMMU:

This will be the first visit of the PM to the Union territory after Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead on April 22.

Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Chenab bridge and India's first cable-stayed Anji bridge, the symbol of India's engineering excellence before flagging off Vande Bharat trains to mark the completion of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway link (USBRL) that will provide direct train connectivity to the valley.

Modi will also lay the foundation stone, inaugurate and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth over ₹46,000 crore at Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district.

The 272-km-long USBRL project, constructed at a cost of around ₹43,780 crore includes 36 tunnels (spanning 119 km) and 943 bridges.