Amidst
terror threats, PM extends holiday
Sandesh Prabhudesai
2 January 2003
After
holidaying for five days on a Goan beach, prime minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee has gifted to Goa a sky bus, the maiden project
of the Konkan Railway Corporation.
Following footsteps of President Abul Kalam, the prime minister
also spent the New Year with children and later launched 2003
as the 'Year of the Child' for the tourist state.
The KRC's maiden project, worth Rs 350 crore, is expected
to be fully funded by the centre. The announcement was made
after the PM personally attended the presentation made by
B Rajaram, the CMD of the KRC.
The sky bus, which runs on suspended bogies from a column-shaped
structure built at a height of eight metres, will initially
run between Mapusa and Panaji cities and later up to Dona
Paula, a distance of around 20 kms.
The fully air-conditioned coaches will run at the speed of
90 kms, with 60 passengers in each coach, carrying around
15,000 to 50,000 commuters per hour per direction. It is built
from steel and ploy carbon.
"This will be yet another feather in the cap of Goa",
said chief minister Manohar Parrikar. India's first high-speed
train from Mumbai to Goa has already been tested successfully
and will come on tracks shortly.
The prime minister's New Year gift to Goa will however come
into reality in next three years and the state plans to finish
the initial paper work within six months.
Vajpayee had arrived in Goa on 29 December to celebrate the
New Year here, along with his foster daughter, son-in-law
and grandchildren, at Taj Exotica in South Goa.
Falling in love with the chilly weather and sunset of Goa,
he later his extended his stay by one more day, to leave on
2 January.
Your
Comments Please
