Panipat villagers flag delay in railway underpass project

Residents of several villages in the Madlauda area have raised questions over the delay in construction of a railway underpass (RUB) near the Karsindhu railway station on the Panipat-Jind railway line. The villagers have also alleged that the underpass is not being constructed as per the drawing of the project.

Villagers recently sent written complaints in this regard to the Union Railways Minister, Chief Minister and Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Delhi Division of Northern Railway and the Panipat Deputy Commissioner.

In their complaint, residents of Daryapur, UrlanaKhurd, UrlanaKalan and Jeetgarh villages stated that the engineering wing of the Railways had started the construction of an underpass near the Karsindhu railway station on the Panipat-Jind railway track in October 2023. They said the deadline for the project was August 2024 but the work was still pending. Now, the Railways has mentioned a new date of completion of the project, which is up to March 31.

Due to the delay in construction, residents of several villages have to face a lot of inconvenience daily.

Ajmer Singh of Daryapur, Dalip Jeet garh, Satbir, Rohtas, Rajpal, Vijay, Raj Singh, Dayanand and other villagers said that the road where the underpass was being constructed was the main passage for several villages but it had been closed for a long time.

The villagers alleged that the railway officials, under some “high-profile person”, had shortened the slope of the RUB on one side, due to which the vehicles laden with wheat and other grains would not be able to ply properly on it. They alleged that the slope was not constructed according to the drawing of the project.

They alleged that the Railways didn’t construct walls on one side of the underpass, due to which the shed could not be installed on both sides, which would lead to waterlogging during the rainy season.

The villagers said that the main passage of Daryapur, Urlana Kana and Urlana Khurd had been closed for many months due to which they had no direct way to reach the railway station. “Earlier, villagers used to catch a train from the Karsindhu station to visit the PGIMS in case of emergency,” said Ajmer Singh.

The villagers demanded the construction of the underpass as per the drawing and also demanded an inquiry into the matter by forming a committee.

SB Manchanda, Additional Divisional Engineer, Panipat railways, refuted the allegations and said that the underpass was being constructed as per drawing.

“The villagers demanded access pathway to the railway station so we have asked them to call the patwari concerned for demarcation of land there. Then we can give another passage for the villagers’ convenience,” he added.

Sandeep Kalyan, Senior Section Engineer, said, “During the visit to the site, we gave three options to the villagers and it was decided that after the demarcation of land, a passage would be constructed for them. A letter has been sent to the Tehsildar, Panipat, to appoint a patwari for this purpose,” he added.