Adil Lateef
SRINAGAR, Aug 17: For the second consecutive year, the perpetual turmoil in Kashmir is seriously affecting the revenue generation of Railways here as Banihal-Baramulla train repeatedly face suspension due to law and order disturbances in southern districts of the region.
The Railways in Kashmir thrive on the sale of tickets but due to repeated suspensions after every law and order problem, the revenue generation has taken a hit for the second consecutive year. Five month long unrest last year in Valley after the killing of top militant commander Burhan Wani resulted in Rs. 360 crore losses to the Railway Department as the train remained completely suspended.
According to officials, 15 pairs of train run regularly over 137-kilometer-long railway line from Banihal to Baramulla. These trains carry nearly 30,000 commuters including students and Government employees. On an average, the Banihal-Baramulla rail service has Rs 3 lakh daily earning and a full-day suspension leads to the losses worth said amount.
While the intensity of the turmoil this year is low compared to the 2016 but whenever any law and order situation arises after killings of militants or civilians, the train service on Banihal-Baramulla track is suspended with immediate effect to avoid mob attacks on stations and pairs. Last year, the railway stations and train pairs were damaged by angry mobs in south Kashmir and that resulted in losses to the concerned department.
Official figures revealed that the train service from Banihal to Baramulla was suspended 26 times this year for full day. The highest number of suspensions took place in the month of July when the train service was suspended 9 times completely. On many occasions, the train services were suspended for half-day. “With average earning Rs 3 lakh, the losses this year stood at Rs 81 lakh and if we add half-day suspensions then it will touch Rs 1 crore,” he said.
The officials of the Railways said that Pulwama district is their primary “cause of concern” as it is “hyper-sensitive” vis-à-vis law and order problem. “Most mob attacks last year occurred in Pulwama district and whenever any untoward incident happens in its jurisdiction, we are left with no choice but suspend the train,” they said and urged public to not indulge in any sort of attacks on train stations or pairs.
On an average, nearly 30,000 commuters including students and Government employees travel on Banihal-Baramulla train everyday. In Kashmir valley, the train is spanned over in six districts including Kulgam, Anantnag, Srinagar, Baramulla, Budgam and Pulwama.
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