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| CM makes out strong case for rail connectivity to hilly districts | | Azad, Velu discuss early completion of Udhampur-Baramulla rail link | |
Srinagar, July 17-
With the first train in Kashmir to start chugging next year, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today made out a strong case for rail connectivity to hilly and remote districts of Jammu & Kashmir, asking the railway ministry to take urgent steps for extending the link to Rajouri, Poonch, Doda and Kupwara.
Azad was speaking at a high level meeting with Minister of State for Railways, R. Velu to review pace of work on 292-km Katra-Qazigund-Baramulla rail line.
The meeting, lasting for two and a half hours, extensively discussed early completion of the prestigious project and bottlenecks and issues relating to the execution of the Rs. 11,000 crore project.
Besides Chief Secretary, C. Phunsog, Financial Commissioner, Home, B. R. Kundal, DGP, Gopal Sharma, Principal Secretary to Chief Minsiter, Anil Goswami, senior officers of Northern Railway, Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd., IRCON and State Government participated in the meeting.
Chief Minister said that the full benefits of the railway project would accrue to Kashmir only after it was connected with other parts of the country. He said the connectivity would flourish tourism and trade in the Valley and give boost to economic activity. He recalled his marathon survey of the entire railway track from Katra to Baramulla yesterday along with Mr. Velu and said the first rail run from Qazigund to Baramulla was a matter of months now. The people of the Valley would be able to enjoy the 119 km rail travel through the bewitching landscape next year.
Azad highlighted the need to extend rail from Baramulla to Kupwara and from Katra to Rajouri, Poonch and Doda. He asked the railway ministry to undertake survey of these projects at the earliest so that people in these far off and difficult areas also share the benefits of development. He stressed on the railway officials the need to complete the laying of the track in the Valley at the earliest suggesting them to have the work done in double shifts, given the limited working season in Kashmir .
Chief Minister assured full support and cooperation to the railway authorities and asked the concerned officers to sort out impediments in the smooth execution of the project. He asked them to speed up the process of land transfer to the railway authorities and said that he wanted the entire railway track from Qazigund to Baramulla to be operational simultaneously next year.
Raising of about 6 battalions of police to protect the railway track within the valley was also agreed on 50:50 basis between the State Government and the Railway Ministry. Security for the officials and workers on construction sites was also reviewed and decided to be beefed up.
Minister of State for Railways said the train travel within Kashmir would be a major tourist attraction like Shimla and Darjeeling . He said the train ride through lush green valley and snow capped mountains would be a novel experience for tourists. He said the Valley was a dreamland for the people of the country and his ministry had taken up the project to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country as a dream project. He shared the views of the Chief Minister that the rail connectivity would enhance tourism and trade in Kashmir . He described Azad as The Chief Minister in the country who was completely development oriented.
Velu mentioned some of the significant features of the Katra-Qazigund-Baramulla rail track and said that the world’s highest rail bridge over River Chenab at Kauri and the longest rail tunnel in Pir Panjal at Banihal would serve as major tourist attractions. The bridge, he said, would have a height of 359 meters and a span of 462 meters and the tunnel 11 km long. On this occasion, a power point presentation was made on the technique adopted in the construction of the bridge at Kauri.
Other interesting features of the rail line include the 109.54 km tunnel length from Katra to Qazigund out of the total stretch of 148 kms and 165 major and 650 minor bridges from Udhampur to Baramulla. The number of total railway stations on the 292 km track would be 30, fifteen each on either side of the Pir Panjal.
The issues that came up for discussion include construction of approach roads to railway stations, raising of 132/220 KV high voltage transmission line at Anantnag and Punzgam yards, land acquisition, pending forest clearance, land for muck disposal and security arrangements for construction workers and officers.
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