To mark the hundredth celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s Champaran Satyagraha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled several projects, approximately worth Rs. 6600 crore. He decided to fuse the two national concepts — Satyagraha and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan — together calling it ‘Satyagraha se Swachhagraha‘ campaign.
Marking the event, PM Modi flagged off India’s first all-electric superfast train and gave a boost to the Clean India mission which primarily aims to stop open defecation in Bihar.
Here are some tidbits about India’s Superfast Train:
1) It is part of the ‘Make in India’ project and was developed in collaboration with French company Alstom.
2) With a 12,000 horsepower engine, it will have a maximum speed of 120 km/hour.
3) Being all-electric, it will bring down operating costs for the Railways.
Did you know?
Under the agreement with Alstom, over the next 11 years, 800 such trains will be made, at a cost of Rs. 20,000 crore.
What else did PM Modi launch?
1) PM Modi launched the Champaran Humsafar Express, a new bi-weekly train, connecting Katihar to New Delhi.
2) He also launched the electrification work on the rail line from Motihari to Muzaffarpur.
3) PM Modi also launched several water and sanitation projects, which included 4 big ticket sewage treatment plants that are crucial to Clean Ganga mission.
4) The work to double the Muzaffarpur-Narkatiaganj railway track was also unveiled.
