Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated, laid the foundation stone of and flagged off a series of development projects worth over ₹830 crore at Singur in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, underscoring the Centre’s focus on accelerating growth in eastern India.
Addressing a public gathering, the Prime Minister said the development of eastern India is central to the vision of a developed India, and asserted that the Union government is consistently working towards this goal. Referring to his visit to Malda a day earlier and to Hooghly, he said projects worth hundreds of crores were being implemented across West Bengal to strengthen infrastructure and connectivity.
Highlighting major rail initiatives, PM Modi said the country’s first Vande Bharat Sleeper Train was launched from West Bengal on Saturday, while the state had already received nearly half a dozen Amrit Bharat Express services. On Sunday, he flagged off three more Amrit Bharat Express trains, connecting Kolkata with Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi, Banaras and Tambaram in Tamil Nadu. He described the past 24 hours as unprecedented for rail connectivity in the state.
The Prime Minister also emphasised the Centre’s push for port-led and waterway-based development in Bengal. He said projects related to ports and inland waterways would help transform the state into a hub for manufacturing, trade and logistics, while generating employment. Referring to investments made over the past 11 years, he noted that capacity expansion at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port and improved road connectivity under the Sagarmala programme had contributed to record cargo handling at Kolkata Port last year.
PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the Extended Port Gate System at Balagarh, a project that includes an inland water transport terminal and a road overbridge. Spanning about 900 acres, the facility is envisaged as a modern cargo handling terminal with a capacity of 2.7 million tonnes per annum. He said the project would reduce congestion in Kolkata by diverting heavy cargo traffic, improve logistics efficiency and open new economic opportunities for Hooghly and neighbouring areas.
Stressing the importance of multimodal connectivity and green mobility, the Prime Minister said the government is working to integrate ports, river waterways, highways and airports to ensure seamless transportation while reducing logistics costs and travel time. He also launched a state-of-the-art electric catamaran in Kolkata to promote eco-friendly urban river transport and tourism along the Hooghly.
In the rail sector, PM Modi inaugurated the Jayrambati-Barogopinathpur-Maynapur new rail line, part of the Tarkeshwar-Bishnupur project, and flagged off a new passenger service to provide improved connectivity for Bankura district.
The Prime Minister said the initiatives would benefit farmers, fishermen, small traders and transporters, and generate large-scale employment. Governor C. V. Ananda Bose, Union Ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, Shantanu Thakur and Sukanta Majumdar, among other dignitaries, were present at the event.
