Early Times Report
Jammu, July 2: Citizens Forum has welcomed Prime Minister Narinder Modi to make his first visit to Katra on July 4, along with Railway Minister Sadanand Gowda and Minister of State in PMO Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also MP from the constituency to inaugurate Katra railway station and flag off the rail between Katra and Udhampur. Meantime it seeks PMO's due intervention to get Railway Station Jammu upgraded which still lacks facilities despite court directions. The Citizens Forum observed that running of railway upto Katra, the base camp of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine will further boost the pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine and boost the economy of Katra, Jammu and the state as a whole. In a meeting held here today under the chairmanship of its President R K Chadha, the members also hailed the state of art Railway Station at Katra, at the same time regretted utter neglect of Jammu Tawi Railway Station, where over 50,000 passengers daily board and deboard the trains. The Forum has brought to the notice of Prime Minister, the Railway Minister as well as the MoS in PMO Dr Jitendra Singh that despite directions by the J&K High Court to the railway authorities to provide 22 required facilities at Jammu railway station and assurance given by the railway authorities to implement the same by 2013-2014, nothing practical has been done in this regard till date. The Forum has particularly requested the MoS Jatinder Singh, who at one time was the general Secy. of Citizen Forum to actively take up the matter with the concerned authorities for providing the required facilities for upgrading the Jammu railway station.
Among others who were present in this meeting included S S Wazir EX Additional Director General of J&K Police, Rtd Chief Engineer Arun Sharma, Rtd Chief Engineer Vikram Gaur, Dr Mrs Nirmal Kamal Rtd Head of Economics Department Jammu University, Retired Conservator of Forests S I H Qazmi, Rtd Director ERA and Ex Vice Chairman JDA R K Handa, JS Chawaun, Rtd Chief Engineer Vinay Kotwal, Rtd AEE MS Kapoor, Rtd Engineer K R Gandotra, Businessman Ramesh Gupta, Businessman K K Mahajan, Rtd Secretary of JKBOSE Professor Mohammad Ayub and social activist Rahat Hussain. |
