PM postpones visit to Kashmir for opening railway line

Prime minister Manmohan Singh has postponed by over a week his planned visit to Kashmir, during which he will inaugurate a 12-km railway line connecting Anantnag and Qazigund that will mark the completion of the rail project in the valley.

The prime minister was scheduled to visit the state on October 18 but it had to be postponed because of the non-availability of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, official sources said.
    
Singh, who is expected to tour the state for two days, is now likely to be there on October 27. During his visit, he is expected to review the railway project connecting the Kashmir valley with Jammu region, the sources said.

He may also review the Dal project besides progress in other developmental schemes under the Prime Minister's Reconstruction Plan.

The prime minister had inaugurated the 66-km long section from Anantnag to Mazhom last year. Congress president Sonia Gandhi had earlier this year inaugurated the 35-km-long Mazhom-Baramulla line, part of the 119-Km Qazigund-Baramulla railway line.

An amount of Rs 2,551 crore has been incurred on the Qazigund-Baramulla railway link till end of December last year.

Singh, who was also present at the inauguration early this year, had said the line was bound to catalyse economic growth in the Kashmir valley with the availability of cheaper and more reliable transport.