Prime Minister Narendra Modi would flag off Rameswaram – Ayodhya express, connecting the pilgrim island and the city in Uttar Pradesh, when he arrives in Rameswaram on July 27 to dedicate to the nation the memorial of former president APJ Abdul Kalam.
According to a tentative programme, the Prime Minister would flag off the train from the function venue at Mandapam, near the helipad, after which, the express train would chug off from Rameswaram Railway station.
The rakes have already reached the Rameswaram Railway station and this would be the first direct train service from Ayodhya to a town in south India, sources said.
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After the flagging off, the weekly express train is expected to reach Ayodhya on July 29.
Linking of Ayodhya and Rameswaram, the abode of Sri Ramanathaswamy temple, by train was seen as a politically significant move by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was making attempts to expand its footprints in the south, especially Tamil Nadu.
According to the schedule, the Prime Minister was expected to land in Mandapam helipad around 11 a.m.
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He would reach the memorial site at Pei Karumbu by road and dedicate to the nation the memorial built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a tribute to Mr. Kalam for his contribution to the organisation.
After flagging of ‘Kalam Sandesh Vahini,’ a bus from Rameswaram to Rashtrapathi Bhavan, carrying Kalam’s vision 2020, Mr. Modi would return to Mandapam by road to address a public meeting near the helipad.
At the function venue, the Prime Minister would distribute sanction letters to fishermen beneficiaries of long liner trawlers under the blue revolution scheme. He is also slated to release the synopsis of the Green Rameswaram project of Vivekananda memorial before addressing the public and leaving for Madurai airport.