Srinagar: The festive mood in Kashmir ahead of the historic inauguration of the rail link with the rest of the country has turned sour amid reports that passengers from Srinagar will now have to board a new train – departing from Katra in Jammu – for all onward travel to other parts of the country. Goods trains also wouldn’t run on the new network.
According to Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union (KVFGDU), the biggest conglomerate of fruit growers and traders in the valley, the limited connectivity plan of the Northern Railway for the valley is a ‘joke’ for the horticulture sector.
The horticulture sector is the backbone of Kashmir’s economy and contributes 9.5% to state GDP.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and many people in Kashmir have also expressed disappointment over the absence of a direct train between Srinagar and Delhi, and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government of turning the much anticipated rail network into an “enterprise of Hindu pilgrimage”.
‘Needless inconvenience’
Sources said that the Jammu and Kashmir government led by chief minister Omar Abdullah was also unhappy with the announcement and the issue was going to be raised with the Union government in coming days.
“It is a genuine concern which will be taken up with the Centre in coming days,” said a senior leader of the ruling National Conference, on the condition of anonymity.
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The PDP said that the mandatory deboarding at Katra would put “additional burden” on the passengers and it undermined the “much-hyped” promise of travel convenience for Kashmiris.
“It is a step back from the original vision of the rail project that was being sold as a major infrastructural game changer in the post-Article 370 era,” said PDP leader and former J&K minister Syed Basharat Bukhari in a statement.
The issue came to light when the Northern Railway disclosed its schedule of trains on the new network, which is likely to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month.
Modi is also likely to inaugurate the strategic Z-Morh tunnel on Srinagar-Leh national highway during his upcoming visit to J&K.
Daily trains but no purpose for Kashmiris
According to officials, one Vande Bharat and two Mail Express trains would run to and fro between Katra, which is home to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, and Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, on a daily basis.
However, there will not be any goods trains on the network from Srinagar to Katra. Moreover, civilian passengers in Srinagar will not be able to utilise this network. They would have to go through a fresh boarding process in Katra before continuing their journey to New Delhi and other parts of the country.
According to Northern Railways, passengers from Srinagar would have to change their train in Katra before continuing their onward journey to other parts of the country.
According to reports, the decision to halt the train from Srinagar to Katra has been taken due to “security concerns”.
The KVFGDU said that the limited connectivity train will not serve any purpose either for Kashmir-based passengers or fruit growers.
In a statement, the conglomerate said it had hoped that the train service “will help address logistical challenges, stimulate economic growth and promote horticulture industry” of Kashmir but the schedule released is a “joke”.
Speaking to The Wire, the KVFGDU president, Bashir Ahmad Basheer, said that the railway network was aimed to cut the travel time between New Delhi and Srinagar and also help boost Kashmir’s horticulture sector.
“The fact that there are no goods trains and the passengers bound to Delhi from Srinagar will have to go through the boarding process all over again and wait for a new train in Katra for their onward journey undermines the very purpose for which this railway network was established,” Basheer said.
Feasibility
According to officials, the journey between Srinagar and Katra will be covered in three hours by train. From Katra, it takes a couple of hours to reach Jammu by car or bus which would take the total travel time between the two capitals of the union territory to around five to six hours.
On the other hand, the work on the new Srinagar-Jammu highway is likely to be completed soon which will cut down the travel time between Srinagar and Jammu to less than five hours, making the train journey unviable for thousands of Kashmiris who travel to Jammu every year during winters.
While the train could be still an attractive option for the passengers from Kashmir who plan to travel to New Delhi and other parts of the country, many might still opt for air travel or cabs to avoid the security checking and boarding in Katra which is frequented by hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims throughout the year.
Mohammad Sayeed Malik, former head of J&K’s information department, said that the announcement by the Northern Railways was a “big dampener” for the people of Kashmir.
“It makes no sense to not have a direct train between New Delhi and Srinagar. Not only would senior citizens and ladies have to go through the inconvenience of a rigorous boarding process in Katra again but there will also be further loss of time in the transfer of trains,” he said.
Aftab Khan, who retired as principal of a government run college in Kishtwar, alleged that the BJP-led Union government was not interested in easing the travel to Kashmir.
“The government is more interested in pursuing the agenda of connecting all the Hindu sites of pilgrimage with railways to promote Hindu pilgrimage tourism. The train to Kashmir is a part of the Hindu pilgrimage enterprise,” Khan, who lives in Srinagar, posted on Facebook.
