Puducherry-Cuddalore railway line work to be expedited.

Chief Minister N. Rangasamy recently announced that the work of laying new railway line between Puducherry and Cuddalore would be expedited.

After hoisting the national flag in the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex on Friday here to mark the 68th Independence Day, Mr. Rangasamy inspected the guard of honour given by police.

Announcing promotions for police personnel, Mr. Rangasamy said constables who completed 15-years’ service would be promoted as Special Grade Head Constable while constables or head constables who completed 25 years to Special Grade Assistant Sub-Inspectors. 'To ensure that essentials reach the beneficiaries, all fair price shops will be connected through General Packet Radio System (GPRS) and thumb impression will be obtained by reader at point of sale. Short message service (SMS) will be introduced to inform the beneficiaries about the availability of commodities in the shop. Through these initiatives, the revenue loss for the government can be averted', said Mr. Rangasamy.

He also disclosed that the Union government had accorded its approval to creation of three coastal police stations in Puducherry, Mahe and Yanam and efforts were on to set up new quay at Thengaithitu Fishing Harbour.

The Chief Minister also said that with Rs.1,510-crore loan assistance from Japan, the government would execute works such as underground drainage, roads and bridges, irrigation and drinking water supply schemes.

He said the Union government approved two combined drinking water supply schemes at the cost of Rs.469 crore in urban and suburban areas of Puducherry and Karaikal. The project would be implemented once the fund was released from the Union government.

The Chief Minister said that road overbridges on railway line near Arumbartharthpuram and Mudaliarpet would be constructed and the government also proposed a construction of flyover at the cost of Rs.43.15 crore across Uppanar Canal linking Balaji Theatre on Kamaraj Salai to New Tone Theatre on Maramalaiadigal Salai. He said the government has proposed of laying west-bypass road at a cost of Rs21.20 crore in the first phase.

The construction of a 'manimandapam' for former Tamil Chief Minister Kamaraj would be resumed at Karuvadikuppam at a cost of Rs.23.60 crore, he added.

To improve road transportation, Mr. Rangasamy said 50 more buses would be bought soon under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme.

Reiterating the demand for Statehood for the Union Territory, the Chief Minister said his government would approach the Union government and take pro-active steps to make the State numero uno.

Speaker V. Sabapathy, Ministers, MLAs, Chief Secretary Chetan B. Sanghi, and Inspector General of Police Praveer Ranjan also took part in the celebrations.


THE HINDU