PM lays foundation stone for Rs 6,957-cr Kaziranga corridor, flags off 2 Amrit Bharat trains
Kaliabor (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the Rs 6,957-crore Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, and virtually flagged off two Amrit Bharat trains in Assam's Nagaon district.
Modi, who arrived here from Guwahati in the final leg of his two-day visit to the state, performed ‘Bhoomi Poojan’ of the Kaziranga project.
The corridor is aimed at ensuring safe wildlife movement across the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, reduce road accidents on National Highway-715, and boost ecotourism, while generating local employment opportunities, an official said.
It forms part of the four-laning of the Kaliabor-Numaligarh section of NH-715, and includes around 34.45 km of elevated wildlife-friendly corridors, along with bypasses at Jakhalabandha and Bokakhat, he said.
Modi also reviewed a model of the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor.
The Prime Minister also virtually flagged off two Amrit Bharat Express trains – Dibrugarh-Gomti Nagar (Lucknow) and Kamakhya-Rohtak.
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These trains will significantly enhance long-distance rail connectivity between Assam and multiple states, including West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Haryana, reduce travel time, and provide modern passenger amenities, the official said.
In a post on X, the PM had earlier said he was looking forward to being in Kaliabor for the ‘Bhoomi Poojan’ of key development projects.
''Looking forward to being in Kaliabor, Assam today for the Bhoomi Poojan of key development works, including the 35 km elevated corridor across Kaziranga. This will go a long way in safeguarding animals, particularly in the monsoon season,'' Modi had said.
During the programme, Amrit Bharat trains will also be flagged off, which will improve connectivity for the people of Assam, he added.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
