PM's 1st visit to J&K after Op Sindoor; to inaugurate world's highest railway bridge over Chenab on June 6

Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit Jammu and Kashmir on June 6 to inaugurate the world's highest railway bridge over Chenab river.

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This would be the PM's first visit to the UT after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that sparked an Indian military response -- Operation Sindoor -- in the wake of Pakistan sponsored attack that killed 26 civilians, including one Nepali.

Minister of State in the PMO, Jitendra Singh, on Tuesday said there were just three days to go for history to be made.

"The mighty Chenab Bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge, stands tall in Jammu and Kashmir as part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL). It is built to withstand nature’s toughest tests. PM Modi will inaugurate the Chenab Bridge on June 6. The bridge is a proud symbol of New India’s strength and vision!" said Jitendra Singh.

The bridge boasts of several striking features.

It spans the Chenab River at a height of 359 m (1,178 ft) above the river, which is 35 meters taller than Paris' Eiffel Tower.

The arch bridge between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir is 1,178 feet above the riverbed, forming a crucial link from Katra to Banihal.

It is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL), a dream project worth Rs 35000 crore. The bridge has passed all the mandatory tests.

The people of Jammu and Kashmir will get the bridge after two decades of waiting since the project was approved in 2003 but was delayed shortly due to fears of stability and safety.

In the year 2008, the contract for constructing one of the highest railway bridges was awarded. The tests that have been conducted to check the stability and safety of the world's highest bridge include high-velocity winds test, extreme temperatures test, earthquake-prone test and hydrological impacts due to water level increase.

Once inaugurated for operations, the bridge will be able to withstand winds with speeds up to 260 kmph and will have a lifespan of 120 years.

"The construction of the highest railway bridge was the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history. Over the last three years, engineers have been building the arch with the help of two mammoth cable cranes installed on both banks of the Chenab -- the Kauri end and the Bakkal end," government sources said.