After a decade of dedication and loss, engineer’s Kashmir rail vision becomes reality

For railway engineer Tarun Kumar, Friday's inauguration of the Udhampur-Baramulla-Srinagar Rail Link (USBRL) — Kashmir's historic rail connection to rest of India -- was an emotional culmination of a decade spent overcoming fear and personal sacrifice, including the loss of a colleague to terrorism.

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Kumar, an engineer with Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON), shared the journey of his association with the project at the Banihal railway station, located 100 km from Srinagar along the national highway.

"As a manager in IRCON, I was initially posted in Srinagar and later had my postings in Baramulla and Anantnag. My main job was to look after the tracks, bridges, station buildings, platforms and electrification. At that time, very few people from outside used to come to the Valley for work," Kumar said.

He also said that the locals in Kashmir are very cooperative and “if militancy is taken out of this place, it will turn into a real heaven”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off two specially-designed Vande Bharat trains, one from Katra to Srinagar and the other from Srinagar to Katra, to mark the completion of the USBRL project.

"I came to Kashmir from my home state Bihar in 2003 to work on the UBSRL project. Initially, I was really scared. There were forces everywhere, and bomb blasts were happening. I was not sure if I would continue for a long time. But with time, I got used to it and continued my work,” Kumar said.

Kumar said he was transferred outside Kashmir several times before being posted here again.

"Seeing the project get completed today brought me a lot of joy," he added.

Recalling the loss of a 30-year-old colleague named Sudhir Kumar Pundir from Meerut in 2004, Kumar said he was abducted from a railway construction site in south Kashmir's Awantipora and later police recovered his body with his throat slit.

Fearful of the risks associated with working in Kashmir, the IRCON engineer said he decided to quit his job and go back to his native place.

Expressing happiness over the completion of the project, Kumar said he feels proud to be associated with the landmark endeavour.

"I cannot explain how happy I am right now. It was like an impossible dream, and we gave up on it so many times. Today, the train has finally rolled out and it is a moment of pride for all of us. I am thankful to the government for motivating us continuously," Kumar said.

He also said the all-weather train will be a game-changer for the holistic development of the Himalayan region.