Title - Step up rail projects in state: Butail to Railway Minister

Palampur: Brij Behari Lal Butail, state Assembly Speaker, has requested Union Railway Minister Pawan Bansal, for the speedy completion of all railway projects going on in the state.Butail, who recently called on the Railway Minister at New Delhi, urged for the allocation of more budget for the Nangal Talwara railway line that is under construction since 1977.He also sought early clearance of other pending projects in the state.Butail also demanded the conversion of the Pathankot Joginder Nagar narrow gauge rail track into a broad gauge line and also link the same with Leh via Manali, keeping in view the defense requirements of the country. This rail track was laid by the British in 1932. Since then no expansion of this line was made by the government of India. In the rest of the country, all narrow gauge lines had already been converted into broad gauge lines.He said if this rail track was extended up to Leh, it would be an alternate route for the Army to carry its goods. He told the minister that during the Kargil war in 1999, the entire Army supplies, guns and heavy equipment were carried through this route to Leh, therefore if this rail track was laid, it would be an all-weather track and the government of India would save crores of rupees.At present, the entire supplies were lifted to Leh and Ladakh by air from Chandigarh and Delhi in the country.

He informed the minister that China had already expanded its rail network in the border areas in Tibet, therefore th egovernment of India should also strengthen its rail network in the areas of Himachal bordering China and Pakistan.

Butail also brought into the notice of the Railway Minister that there would be no need to acquire the land up to Joginder Nagar as the Railways already had sufficient land to lay the track.

In rest of the parts, the state government would acquire the land for this project, he added.