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| Chaman flays railway budget, poses question on Katra linkage | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Feb 26
Terming it as a propaganda speech than that of a promising Railway Budget of Shri Lalu Prasad, former Union Minister and a senior leader of the BJP, Prof. Chaman Lal Gupta has regretted that little has been explained in real sense about the virtual collapse of the extension of rail link from Udhampur to the holy town of Katra Vaishno Devi as also the ground work being done for connecting the valley of Kashmir with the rest of the country.
Sharply reacting over the budget speech of the Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad, Chaman said that as usual the man has tried to be a poet to attract the gallerias but mere clutches and platitudes would not lead to the desired results.
In this regard, he particularly referred to the much desired extension of Railway line from Udhampur to Katra and then onwards to Qazigund in the valley, and said that it was unfortunate that after the change of guards at New Delhi four years ago the most of the developmental schemes taken up by the Centre in this crucial state of Jammu and Kashmir have come to a halt. These also include the prestigious projects including one that of 290 kms long railway line to link Udhampur with Baramullah in Kashmir.
Chaman recalled that the main objective of this scheme was to link the valley with the rest of the country to minimize its isolation and the prevailing feelings of separatism. After the completion of much delayed execution of railway line from Jammu to Udhampur, the NDA government had put the execution task of the rail link to from Udhampur to Katra and then to the valley on priority basis. The rail link up to Katra was to be completed by the end of 2005 itself. To this end the execution task was handed over to the Konkan Railways but not to say of completing the task upto Qazigund and then to Baramullah by the end of 2007, even the link upto Katra is faced with uncertainties.
He further said that it was highly intriguing that leaving aside the execution works upto Qazigund, too much emphasis is being laid to have it confined in isolation in the valley of Kashmir itself.
The BJP leader asserted that not only Lalu but also the ruling Congress owes an explanation that why the execution works on this project, particularly from Udhampur to Katra and then onwards to Qazigund, has been mysteriously slowed down. Was it not linked with the thinking of encouraging separatism in the troubled valley of Kashmir, he questioned. |
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