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| Bickering between Jammu-Udhampur defers new rail division | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Feb 27: The proposed Railways Division, Jammu- a project which could have been instrumental in bringing a sea change in the economy of the state particularly in Jammu region was put in the backburner mainly due to petty political considerations between Jammu and Udhampur politicians.
A project that was to be announced for its execution in the rail budget presented on Thursday had to be shelved at the eleventh hour because of the political tussle among the politicians belonging to Jammu and Udhampur districts.
The Union Government had made up its mind to create a new Rail Division in the form of Jammu Rail Division by carving it out of Ferozepur Rail Division in the neighbouring state of Punjab, which at present is serving as country's northern most area of its operation.
The idea of creating a Rail Division in Jammu was mooted after the rail connectivity reached beyond Jammu - first upto Udhampur then Srinagar to Baramulla and further from Srinagar to Banihal while it also extended its operation from Udhampur to Katra, however, it was apprehended by the political experts of Jammu province that the materialization of the venture could not see the light of day due to vested interests.
The political muscle flexing may have caused the sanctioning of Rail Division to Jammu but it has proved to be a blessing in disguise for Ferozepur Rail Division in particular and Punjab in general as the bifurcation of Ferozepur Rail Division for the time being has been deferred.
It is worthwhile to mention here that the Railways had started the process of setting up Rail Division in Jammu on February 24, 2014 by initializing the paper work in this direction and in the course of development the department has also chalked out a detailed blue print to lessen the work load of overburdened Ferozepur Rail Division.
It was also planned to make Srinagar as new Sub-Division office of the proposed Jammu Rail Division but Udhampur as a main link connecting Jammu with Srinagar has become a major road block in the creation of new Rail Division.
The contentious issue of establishing the new Rail Division in either Jammu or Udhampur has turned out to be a vexed issue for the Railway Ministry which withheld it after it could not withstand the political pressure emanating from Jammu as well as Udhampur.
In the current scenario where the political big-wigs of certain political parties from Udhampur belt, who are not keen to see the establishment of the Rail Division at Jammu, the Railway Ministry under immense pressure opted for the best solution of putting on hold the project till a via media is decided on.
Meanwhile, sources said that if the new Rail Division at Jammu had taken a real shape then as many as 100 railway stations would have come into the purview of it including important stop-overs like Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Pathankot in Punjab while it would also have the jurisdiction over Kangra and Mandi in Himachal Pradesh but undue delay has marred the project. |
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