Jammu and Kashmir Border Area Development Conference(JK-BADC) a registered organization working for the welfare of border residents of J & K in continuation of its appeals has once again urged the Government of India to restore prestigious Jammu_Poonch Railway Link Project that was shelved for want of funds.
BADC in its latest appeal has requested the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Railway Minister to revive the strategically important Jammu_Poonch Railway Project that had been shelved by Railway Board for reason of being “financially unviable”.
Dr Shazad Ahmed Malik, Chairman of the BADC and former Vice Chancellor while supporting the demand of restoration of the Jammu-Poonch Railway project has said that this 223 km Railway Project was promised to the people of Rajouri and Poonch and decades have passed but the project could not be started for one reason or the other .
He informed that the estimated cost of this project was Rs 22,771 Crore as per the last survey submitted in 2018. Dr Shazad said this estimated cost may sound very huge but compared to other ongoing projects of Railways and National Highway Authority of India(NHAI) elsewhere in India this is not so big as it is being declared as “financially unviable”.
“The people of Rajouri and Poonch were jubilant and had celebrated when this project was announced by the government of India, the people had high hopes from the incumbent government but sadly they too disappointed the people of Rajouri and Poonch as they had been ignored for decades “ the BADC Chairman added while expressing his displeasure.
The former VC further stated that when resources of the Nation belongs to every region then why the people of this part (Rajouri_Poonch) of India are ignored repeatedly, the border areas in fact needs more attention of the government.
