NGOs call for immediate start of work on Amritsar-Ferozepur rail link

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 15

City-based NGOs requested the Union Government to immediately start the work on the strategic and commercially vital Amritsar-Ferozepur rail link.

They said the long-awaited project received a new lease of life after MP Shwet Malik took up the matter in the Rajya Sabha.

Members of the Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) said the matter got across the board cooperation from members of Parliament of Punjab and Rajasthan for the immediate and speedy construction of the missing portion of the pre-1947 Ferozepur-Amritsar railway line.

They stated that the line was functioning for more than half a century but in 1947, when the province of Punjab was divided, a small portion from Ganda Singh Wala, Kasur, up to Khem Karan, fell into the share of Pakistan.

India needed to rebuild an alternative portion from Patti to Ferozepur immediately but it did not happen till now.

The budgetry allocation was made for the project in 2013 but it did not translate into work at the grass-roots level till date.

Malik’s request generated unanimous support for his demand from Navjot Singh Sidhu of the BJP, Ambika Soni and Partap Singh Bajwa of the Congress and Naresh Gujral, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Balwinder Singh Bhundar of the Shiromani Akali Dal.

The project will benefit the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the southern Indian peninsular states, the AVM members said.

This railway route is very significant for the whole nation especially for north-east India as it will reduce the 240 km distance between Amritsar and Mumbai and the 267 km distance between Srinagar and Mumbai. A time of 6 hours will also be saved for each trip. The route from Amritsar-Patti-Ferozepur-Fazilka -Abohar -Ganganagar-Bikaner-Jodhpur-Ahmedabad- Mumbai will also benefit the border districts of Punjab and Rajasthan.

Punjab Beopar Mandal president Amrit Lal Jain hoped that the rail link would lessen the rush on the Amritsar-Delhi-Mumbai route as the goods trains have to stay for 3-4 hours in Delhi. The goods trains on Amritsar-Mumbai route via Ferozepur will run without any break. It would also decongest the highly busy Delhi railway station.

This rail route will also be an alternative route of Amritsar-Ambala-Delhi route. During the Jat andolan in Haryana a few months back, the Amritsar-Ambala-Delhi route was blocked for more than a week and travellers had to face unbearable hardships.