Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Aug 7: The Railways in Kashmir have suffered nearly Rs one crore loss since July 9 when unrest started in Valley after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzzafar Wani while the services continued to remain suspended till date.
A top official of Northern Railways said that the train service on 137-kilometer long Banihal to Baramulla rail line is suspended since July 9 after widespread protests and violence raged across Kashmir. He said that the crowd attacked the rail installations at several places in South Kashmir – from where deadly violence originated – and to avoid any untoward incident the service was suspended.
Sources said that the angry protesters attacked the railway installations at multiple places in south Kashmir including at Panjgam, Malangpora, Pampore and Hillar. The protesters at Kakapora attempted twice to set ablaze the local station but the paramilitary personnel deployed there foiled the attempts by using force against them.
Except one day in a week, thousands of people including students, Government and private sector employees and locals travel on Banihal-Baramulla rail. The official said that 15 pairs of train are running on the 137-long rail line. “On an average, we have Rs 3 lakh earning daily. That means we have suffered nearly rupees one crore loss,” he said.
However, he said, the losses’ suffered due to crowd attacks are yet to be ascertained. “We are mostly cut off from our men because of communication breakdown in Valley. Also, we have not been able to reach those places where attacks took place. In this regard, we haven’t conducted any survey, so it would not be feasible to comment over this right now,” he added.
Contrary to south, the railway installations in central and north Kashmir districts including Budgam and Baramulla were not attacked by protesters, said police officials. “Despite violence in these districts, the protesters didn’t attack rail installations unlike southern Kashmir,” they added. The Nowgam railway station in Srinagar district jurisdiction has, so far, been safe from any crowd attack as it is located far away from residential neighbourhoods.
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