New hope for Karnal-Y’nagar rail link

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, February 28

With a provision for laying railway lines between Karnal and Yamunanagar in his first Budget, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has given hope to the residents who were waiting for this project since 1998.

The residents are hopeful that connectivity between the two key districts would help in boosting trade.

Khattar announced to execute the 61-km-long Karnal-Yamunanagar railway line in the next financial year.

The state government had already submitted an approved detailed project report (DPR) to the Ministry of Railways on September 3, 2019 to connect both the districts having stations near Bhenikhurd village, Ramba, Indri, Ladwa, Radaur, Damla and Jagadhri workshop.

The project to connect Karnal-Yamunanagar districts was first announced on May 29, 1998. The then government had announced the laying of a 128-km railway line between Yamunanagar and Kaithal districts via Karnal district, but it could not be implemented.

Later, it was raised in the February 24, 2010 and February 25, 2011 Railway Budgets by different governments, but it never materialised.

Only surveys were conducted, but nothing concrete came up on the ground. After assuming charge, the Khattar-led BJP government in its first tenure took up the issue with the Railways Ministry to connect Karnal with Yamunanagar.

In August 2015, the CM had raised the issue with the ministry. A ray of hope was seen on February 26, 2018, when a survey for the Karnal-Yamunanagar line was conducted.

“We are happy that our MLA and the CM, who is at present the Finance Minister of Haryana, has kept a proposal to execute this ambitious project in the coming financial year. This railway line will help in boosting trade between the two districts. Besides, it will provide better and the shortest transportation to the residents of both districts. This step will further help in making Karnal railway station a junction,” said Rajeev Kumar, a social worker, who has been raising this issue at various platforms for the past several years.

“I, along with other residents, thank our CM for this project, but the CM should have mentioned the expansion of rapid railway transit system to Karnal as announced earlier on January 6,” he said.

Ravindera Munjal and Anil Juneja, residents of the city, also thanked the CM for this project along with announcing the expansion of Karnal airstrip in this financial year.

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