Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 1: Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has agreed to the demand for construction of new Railway Station for Jammu as present station was facing heavy rush and congestion due to increased number of trains and pilgrims of Mata Vaishno Devi ji shrine.
Prabhu gave this assurance in a meeting with top Ministers and senior BJP leaders this evening on first day of his two days visit. Earlier in the day, Prabhu along with family members visited Mata Vaishno Devi ji shrine and offered prayers.
In a meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh, Industries and Commerce Minister Chander Prakash Ganga, three Ministers of State-Pawan Gupta, Priya Sethi and Sunil Sharma, BJP state president Sat Sharma, CA and other senior BJP leaders including Shamsher Singh Manhas, MP, Jugal Kishore Sharma, MP and Ashok Khajuria, MLC, Prabhu assured that Jammu will get a new Railway Station shortly.
Prabhu is reported to have agreed with demand raised by Dr Nirmal Singh and other BJP Ministers and leaders on construction of new Railway Station for Jammu to overcome congestion of present railway station, where number of trains and passengers has increased manifold over the years but the space and platforms remained the same.
Prabhu said he would ensure that the new Railway Station for Jammu is taken up shortly by the Railways Ministry.
It may be mentioned here that over a period of years, several new trains and DMUs have been introduced to Jammu, Katra and Udhampur but there was no increase in platforms of Jammu Railway Station. Also, space for the passengers remained unchanged.
The Railways Minister also agreed to another demand raised by the BJP Ministers and leaders for manning all railway crossings in the State to avoid any mishap.
He said the foot or over head bridges would be constructed at all unmanned crossings.
Prabhu reiterated his assurance for survey on Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch and Lakhanpur-Basohli-Bhaderwah railway line shortly to examine feasibility of the routes and undertake work.
The proposal for Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch railway line was mooted long back but previous UPA Government had shelved it.
However, the BJP Government at the Centre has promised fresh survey on the railway line and undertake work if the line was found feasible. The line was proposed via Akhnoor-Sunderbani and Nowshera.
The people from twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch had for the long been demanding linking of the two districts with rail line. This rail line was also important from strategic point of view as both Rajouri and Poonch have long LoC with Pakistan.
Prabhu will tomorrow lay foundation stone for construction of Escalators, Lifts, Multiplex Complex, Executive Lounge and Mechanized Laundry at Jammu Railway Station before returning to New Delhi.
An official handout said:-
The Railway Minister spoke about the initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi both within the country and abroad to revive the Indian economy that had witnessed slump during the previous Government. He highlighted the positive impact of the Prime Minister’s foreign visits and economic cooperation with world countries in improving FDI across so many sectors in India. He said railways have initiated major reforms keeping in line with the economic agenda of the Prime Minister.
Prabhu said that while at the international level, many developed nations are undergoing economic distress resulting in their recession, “India under the leadership of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has not only withstood the pressure but our country is moving on a positive growth curve and would emerge as a global economic power in near future”, he elaborated.
While referring to the new initiatives undertaken by the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister, the Railway Minister said that the new and innovative initiatives like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ have a huge potential to transform India and improve the delivery system exponentially besides creating a sense of accountability, transparency and credibility and also involving the people in day-to-day governance.
Prabhu said that Indian Railways is also taking steps to connect Jammu and Kashmir State with rest of the country through railway line starting from the northern district of Baramulla and in this regard the project which was left in limbo has been fast paced by holding regular periodical meetings about its implementation besides providing the requisite funds for it.
“In order to ensure that the handicraft sector which is one of the main pillars of the State’s economy gets the requisite boost, the railways will be contributing its bit by ensuring that it is promoted and propagated through e-retailing so that its market grows across the nation and it would in turn boost the economy of this part of country”, he said.
Referring to the initiatives being undertaken in the Tourism Sector of the State, the Minister said that special tourist trains with open roof tops would be introduced shortly so that the tourist related activities get a boost. He said new and special trains would be run in the Jammu sector which would cater to the huge rush of pilgrims coming from different parts of the country to pay their obeisance at Shri Mata Vaishnu Devi and other holy places in the State.
While responding to the demands of the legislators and party leaders, the Minister said that a new satellite terminal would also be undertaken at Jammu to decongest the existing railway station in Jammu.
Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh while speaking on the occasion said that the Central Government has been quite liberal in extending its support to the State by way of several schemes in different sectors. He said that the new railway projects being undertaken in Lakhanpur-Billawar-Bhaderwah and Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch would go a long way in providing the much needed railway connectivity to the people living in these areas and boost trade, commerce and tourism related activities.
The legislators and leaders projected several demands which include construction of a new railway satellite station at Kunjwani, two railways stations at Tikri and Dharam Kund, fast pacing the Jammu-Poonch railway line, science trains for the students, increasing the halting time of trains at the Jammu railway station, undertaking Sadbhavna like programmes for creating perceptional management in youth, separate bogies for females in Banihal-Srinagar and other routes, exploring the provision of starting mono rails in Jammu-Srinagar and declaring the old railway line adjoining the Kala Kendra as a heritage site.
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