The president of Jammu and Kashmir’s ruling National Conference, Farooq Abdullah, welled up with emotion as he came out of the Srinagar-Katra Vande Bharat train on Tuesday, and said that his dream of seeing Kashmir connected with the rest of India via rail has come true.
“I am very happy today to see a dream, for which I have waited many years, coming true,” he said, with tears in his eyes, after disembarking at Katra.
“I cannot explain how much my heart is overwhelmed with joy that my eyes are filled with tears on seeing that the day I have been waiting for for years has come true,” Abdullah said.
Accompanied by his grandsons, Zamir and Zahir, the former J&K chief minister reached Katra en route to the Vaishnodevi shrine in Trikuta Hills. He expressed hope that with the rail link to Srinagar, pilgrims coming for darshan at the Vaishnodevi shrine would also travel to Kashmir in large numbers and visit the Amarnath shrine in the South Kashmir Himalayas.
He said the train would not only provide connectivity, but also boost love and friendship between the two regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
Pointing out that Amarnath pilgrims could come to Kashmir on the train in large numbers, he said, “Our people can also comfortably travel to other parts of the country in it. The people of Kashmir will benefit from it as their fruit and other produce will reach other parts of the country in a short time.”
Wearing a cap and black sunglasses, the veteran leader was also accompanied in the train by J&K minister Satish Sharma and chief minister Omar Abdullah’s adviser, Nasir Aslam Wani, as well as National Conference chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq.
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At Katra railway station, Farooq Abdullah was received by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and National Conference provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta.
“Mata ne bulaya hai (Mata Vaishno Devi has called me),” said Abdullah while leaving Katra railway station to go to the shrine. He and his grandchildren will be at the shrine during the arti rituals in the evening, and will stay the night in the area, NC provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta said, adding that they would go to Jammu on Wednesday.