“Nominate your state’s tourist destination”: Ashwini Vaishnaw on taking National Film Awards across India
Ahmedabad : Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said the National Film Awards should be taken to prominent tourist destinations across the country, as he highlighted the significance of hosting the prestigious ceremony at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat’s Kevadia, home to the Statue of Unity. He also shared an update on the progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.
He boarded a special train from Kalupur Railway Station for Kevadia, where he is scheduled to attend the National Film Awards ceremony, Vaishnaw said the move was aimed at connecting the awards with India’s major tourism destinations.
“Today, the National Film Awards ceremony will be held at Ekta Nagar, where the world’s tallest statue of Sardar Patel is located. Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have undertaken the initiative of taking the National Film Awards to major tourist spots across the country,” Vaishnaw told the media.
He added, “Earlier, the National Film Awards were held only inside a conference room or a hall. The National Film Awards are such an honour that all the major artists, actors, cinematographers, camera personnel, artists and technicians from the film industry are associated with them. If we hold it at a tourist destination, naturally, the tourism destination will also benefit and a new format of the National Film Awards will be presented to everyone. With this thought process, we are now taking the National Film Awards to tourist destinations…”
Vaishnaw appealed to all states to nominate important tourist destinations for future editions of the awards. “Now I will request all the states of the country for the next National Film Awards. Please nominate, please give your nominations for the most important tourist destination in your state,” he said.
“Nominate the tourist destinations that you consider the most important in your respective states, and also tell us what improvements you will make there. What are the improvements you are going to make at that tourist destination? Tell us that as well. And if you make the improvements and your tourist destination is selected, the next National Film Awards will be held at your tourist destination. This is my request to all the states,” the Union Minister added. On the bullet train project, the Union Minister said the work was progressing well and outlined the expected timeline for the first section.
“The bullet train work is progressing very well, as you can see. By December this year, the construction work on the first section, from Surat to Vapi, will be completed. And by April or May next year, we will bring the bullet train being made in India onto the tracks,” Vaishnaw said.
“We will bring the bullet train which is manufactured in India, designed in India and whose entire IP rights are with India. We will be able to bring that bullet train onto the tracks,” he added. Vaishnaw said extensive testing would be carried out after the train is brought onto the tracks.
“By April and May next year, we will then test it extensively. It will have to be tested very extensively. At this point of time, the bullet train which is being manufactured is undergoing a squeeze test. The squeeze test is the test in which the strength of the body is tested. The bogie is ready, the car body has been made and is ready,” he said.
He said several other components and systems had also reached advanced stages. “The propulsion system has been made and is ready, the design of the vehicle electronics has been completed. The design of the wheels has been completed, and its integration with the pantograph, that is, with the overhead electrical system, has been completed. Its integration with the stations has also been completed,” he said.
He also highlighted progress on the under-sea tunnel between BKC and Thane. “The under-sea tunnel between BKC and Thane is also progressing very well,” he said, explaining that tunnel boring machines are taken underground through shafts before horizontal tunnelling begins.
“The tunnelling work is also progressing very well, the station work is also progressing well, and the bridge work is also progressing very rapidly,” he added. Reflecting on the overall progress of the project, Vaishnaw said construction had begun in 2021 and acknowledged the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the complexity of the design.
“Overall, construction of the bullet train started in 2021. There were difficulties in between because of Covid, and the design was also very complex. So, whatever progress we have been able to achieve in this short timeframe, I am very sure that next year we will be able to inaugurate it,” he said.
