Dehradun, June 21
The railway network in the hilly state of Uttarakhand is a gift of British Raj. While colonial rulers laid tracks to facilitate travel, those holding the power reins in the country have not been able to even expand it, forget building new lines.
“A single track connects Dehradun, the state capital, to its nearest station Haridwar. It’s a big hindrance in the speedy movement of trains,” rues Sachin Kumar Bisht, a local resident. In the recent past, efforts have been made to explore the possibility of laying railway lines from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag in Garhwal hills but after the initial survey, things did not progress further. Recently, the Railway Board termed the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag project unviable. Similarly, the long-standing demand for laying of railway track from Bageshwar to Tanakpur in Kumaon hill of Uttarakhand too found few takers in the Union Railway Ministry.
Notably, during his election campaign, former Union Minister of State for Railways and Congress MP from Pauri Garhwal Satpal Maharaj had promised the people of Uttrakhand that if Congress wins all five Lok Sabha seats in the state and UPA returns to power, then he would work towards building the Rishikesh-Karnprayag and Khatima-Tanakpur tracks. Since UPA government is now back at the Centre, the people are hopeful that Maharaj would fulfill his promise.
“There is no direct train from Dehradun to Jammu. Similarly, from Dehradun to Punjab, there is just one direct train. We need more trains from here. I hope the Railway Budget won’t disappoint us,” said Santokh Singh, who frequently travels to Jammu.
Similarly, there is very poor rail connectivity to the western and southern part of the country from here. This, despite the fact that there are many Central government offices in Dehradun.
Notably, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj Gen (retd) BC Khanduri has been accusing the UPA for neglecting the state. Khanduri had gone on record saying that formal request to start Char Dhaam Express from New Delhi to Rishikesh, Dehradun-Rishikesh-Haridwar Tourist Rail Rath and expansion of Tanakpur-Bageshwar and Rudrapur-Kicha-Sitarganj lines was sent to the Centre but to no avail.
However, information gathered by The Tribune revealed that the Railway Board has given a nod to the Muzaffar Nagar-Roorkee rail line project. Once it is completed, the distance between Dehradun and Delhi will be shortened by at least one-and-a-half-hours.
