Right signal on wrong track -- Is Railways' J-K project doomed?

Right signal on wrong track -- Is Railways' J-K project doomed?
BHAVNA VIJ

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 23: It's a railway line to nowhere, but to appease the Jammu and Kashmir government and send the ``right signals'' to the people, the Centre has to walk that distance. And spend -- Rs 400 cr annually.

So, if it doesn't work at one end, the Railways will hop to the other end with the hope that the twain shall meet, a possibility that's quite remote. It's the Railways' most ambitious and expensive projects ever -- the 350-km long Jammu-Baramullah link which requires Rs 3,500 crore. The line, which is to run through Udhampur, Katra, Reasi, Salal dam, Jhelum tunnel, Qazigund foothills and Srinagar, before reaching Baramullah, was conceived as a project which would integrate the state with rest of the country. It was accepted right at the beginning that it won't be economically viable.

But is it viable in any away at all? Unable to make much headway on the Jammu-Udhampur stretch, the Railways have now taken up construction at the other end -- the Baramullah-Srinagar stretch. Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) are executing the job and General Manager A.A. Khande has been posted there to supervise the work.

Given the state of their resources, the difficult terrain and the lack of technical knowhow, few in the Railways believe that this line will be completed. That's besides the terrorist threat. The project, being closely coordinated with the Ministry of Home Affairs, has become more of a political statement.

The first phase -- the 53-km long Jammu-Udhampur stretch -- was approved way back in 1981 and not even half of it has been completed. ``And this is relatively a much easier stretch,'' says a senior official. ``Even Baramullah to Srinagar, which is around 60 km, is easy since the area has mostly no big rivers or mountains though there are a number of small nullahs...Assuming that the Railways are able to complete these stretches in the next decade or so, what about the remaining section in the middle which is the toughest!''

A railway engineer explains how the task is virtually impossible. ``You have Banihal, close to Srinagar, on the way with the 9-km-long Jawahar Tunnel. The line will have to run through it which is not going to be easy, to say the least. And the worst stretch is from Katra to Qazigund. We will have to cut through the Pir Panjal mountains and the dense forest area to make 10-12-km long tunnels. Even we get the permission to cut through the forest and somehow obtain the technical knowhow, snowfall will make it difficult to carry on with the construction,'' he says.

The Railways argue that even if the middle portion is not completed, they would run a train for locals between Baramullah and Srinagar. For this, apparently, the plan is to airlift engines and coaches on the Army's IL-76 (Gajraj) aircraft. ``Only one coach or engine can be airlifted on one trip. This entire thing seems so far-fetched. It will be a miracle if the Railways can pull it off,'' the official said.

Chief Administrative Officer for the project S.R. Ujjailain admits there are constraints, financial and technical. ``The Katra-Qazigund section is technically very difficult. It includes a 300-metre-high and one-kilometre long bridge over Chenab river. We need the technical support of a foreign collaborator for it. We have never undertaken anything like this ever before. Moreover, construction of an approach road is also going to be difficult,'' he explains.

However, he adds they had undertaken other work which also was being done for the first time. ``We have started building bridges with piers higher than the Qutab Minar,'' he says.

Since funds are a major constraint, he adds, they are concentrating on the Qazigund-Baramullah stretch which requires minimum money and would give maximum benefit. ``To begin with, we are concentrating on a 30-km stretch, that is 15 km on either side of Srinagar. This, till the fund position gets better.''

The Government had promised the Railways funds from outside railway resources for the project. The railway and home ministries have reportedly asked for a meeting with the Planning Commission for a regular supply of funds. ``We need at least Rs 400 crore every year to work at a regular pace on the project,'' says an official. Whether that money will be well-spent remains to be seen.