Rail track being fenced in Ambala division to check trespassing
Nitish Sharma
Ambala, July 6
To control trespassing and reduce cattle runover cases, the Ambala Railway division has set a target to eliminate all vulnerable locations by constructing walls and fencing the track by the end of the current financial year.
Cattle runover and trespassing have been major issues, and to ensure safe operations, the Railways is guarding track by fencing it and constructing boundary walls.
As per information, a total length of around 27 km spread over seven vulnerable locations, including Ambala Cantonment, Saharanpur, Kalka-Shimla stretch, Chandigarh, and Sirhind were identified where boundary walls were required to prevent trespassing. Around 11 km has been covered so far and the work on the remaining 16 km is on. The boundary walls are being constructed at a cost of Rs 25 crore.
Similarly, fencing is being done to stop cattle straying on the track. As many as 64 locations were identified under the division, of which 21 have been taken care of and work on 43 locations is still on. The locations were identified on the Ambala-Mohra stretch, Ambala station yard, Solan, Mustafabad, Abohar, Rajpura, Chandigarh, Patiala, Bathinda, Jagadhri, Sangrur, Dappar, and Ghaggar.
An official said: “There are colonies along the track, and sometimes, unfortunate incidents take place as people cross the track and even cattle get run over. Hitting a herd of cattle can lead to a major incident and also impacts the punctuality of trains. The speed of trains is increasing gradually and it is important to ensure that the track is clear.”
Meanwhile, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Ambala division, Mandeep Singh Bhatia, stated: “Continuous efforts are being made to ensure safe and trouble-free train operations across the division. In case of cattle runover, not only do the cattle die but also, sometimes, the locomotive of the train gets badly damaged. The elimination of vulnerable spots will help the Railways and also cattle owners as it causes a huge financial loss.”
“Nearly 600-700 cases of cattle runover incidents are reported across the division annually. To check this, reinforced cement concrete (RCC) walls are being built to guard the track and save lives. Efforts are being made to complete the construction of walls and fencing by March next year,” he added.
