AUG 26: Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh said a fake impression is sought to be created by some elements by spreading the misinformation that the new rail track envisaged from Jammu to Katra will ignore Udhampur and thus discriminate against the people of Udhampur. Even this morning, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
has clarified that considering the heavy rush of passengers, a feasibility study is being undertaken after accepting, in principle, the proposal for construction of additional track on the route. The Railway Minister further said that the process of determining alignment of the track is yet to be initiated, and whenever it is done, all the stakeholders will be taken into confidence. The Railway Minister spoke to me on telephone and conveyed that nowhere it was mentioned by him verbally or in writing that MCTM Udhampur Railway station will not be part of the new route or will be bypassed. No final conclusions have been drawn in this regard and cannot be drawn unless the report about feasibility of the new track is available. Sh Vaishnaw has therefore expressed his disappointment that some elements are trying to take away the credit due to the government headed by PM Narendra Modi.
, who ensured that the rail track which had reached Jammu in 1972, was constructed right up to the valley after more than half a century. Moreover, in Jammu and Kashmir, Udhampur, besides Budgam, is one of the only two railway stations which has been included in the Modi Government’s list of developing selected few railway stations in the country into Amrit Railway Stations , which only reflects the high priority given to this region. The Scope of “Amrit Bharat Railway Station” at MCTM Udhampur, for the time being, is as follows: 1.Improvement of Platform No. 1, 2 & 3 Platform 4 & 5 3.Foot Over Bridge extension to Platform No. 4 & 5 4.Station Building Improvement 5.Circulating Area Improvement 6. Lift/Elevator The matter of fact is that the Congress workers are frustrated with their own leadership which deliberately did not move the rail track further from Jammu for as long as 50 years since 1972 because of their discriminatory policy towards Udhampur and the entire region, and the work was accomplished only when the Modi Government took over.
