Tardy pace of Amritsar-Ferozepur rail track work irks businessmen
Amritsar, August 26
Ten years after the approval of 25.47 km rail link between Amritsar and Ferozepur in the Rail budget, the state government has failed to hand over the land procured for the ambitious project to the authorities concerned.
A notification to acquire the land was published long ago and the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) of the project was completed over three years ago. The SIA stated that 230 households would be affected during the land acquisition.
Manufacturers and traders are annoyed at the government for tardy pace of work to complete the railway line between Amritsar and Ferozepur. It would bring down the distance between Amritsar with western parts of the country.
If this rail link is established, it would bring down traders expenses incurred on procuring raw material and transporting finished goods. The 25-km railway line requires over 140 hectares between Patti and Mukhu to ply trains between Amritsar and Ferozepur. The railway line includes a key railway overbridge (ROB) of one-and-a-half kilometres to be constructed over the Sutlej river starting from Kot Buddha village.
The project would drastically reduce the distance between Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and western states, including Maharashtra and Gujarat. The project would herald social and economic transformation of around 2.5 lakh people, besides providing another line of transportation to defence forces along the International Border.
From the commercial point of view, the rail link is anticipated to shorten the distance between Ferozepur and Amritsar from present 118 km to 86 km. Similarly, the railway link would reduce the distance between Jammu and Mumbai by 267 km and from Amritsar to Mumbai by 240 km. — TNS
Project benefits
- Traders expenses for procuring raw material & transporting finished goods would go down
- Ferozepur-Amritsar travel distance would reduce from 118 km to 86 km
- Distance between Jammu & Mumbai would reduce by 267 km & Amritsar-Mumbai by 240 km
