Koshyari & Tamta demand Tanakpur-Bageshwar railway line

DAINIK NATION BUREAU

Union Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta and Nainital Lok Sabha MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari met Union Railways Minister Piyush Goel in New Delhi on Wednesday and requested him to start the work on Tanakpur-Bageshwar railway line. In his letter to Railway Minister in this regard, Ajay Tamta Has said that the people of his parliamentary constituency Almora had been agitating for past several decades for Tanakpur-Bageshwar railway line. He further said that for this railway line since the days of British in 1912 till 2010-11, several surveys had been done. He had raised the issue during the railway budget debate and requested for early start of the project.

 He said that Defence Ministry before Petitions Committee of Rajya Sabha had identified Tanakpur- Bageshwar railway line as a strategic project. The committee in it’s 141st report had recommended early start on the project. He said that delay in the project has led to resentment amongst the local people. He also mentioned about the letter written by Bageshwar-Tanakpur Rail Marg Sangharash Samiti and letter written by MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari in this regard. It has been mentioned in these letters that before the Petition Committee of the parliament a need for 14 new railway lines important from strategic point view was felt. Out of these 14 railway lines in the country, three are in Uttarakhand namely Rishikesh-Karanprayag-Chamoli, Tanak-Bageshwar and Tankpur- Jauljibi. He said that after Tanakpur-Bageshwar 80 kms line, the railway line of 35 km for Jauljibi will be laid.  Out of these railway lines, except Tanakpur-Bageshwar-Jauljibi, all the railway lines have been declared as national projects by the central government including Rishikesh-Karanprayag line.

 They pleaded that keeping in view the national security and strategic importance, the Tanakpur-Bageshwar railway line should be started immediately.  Thie strategic project should be taken up as a national project as it will facilitate the people of India and Nepal.