Close to 300 residents of 20 villages near Farrukhnagar sat on a two-hour dharna at the Garhi Harsaru Railway Station on Sunday morning. The villagers were protesting the delay in restoring services on the 11.27-km line between Garhi Harsaru and Farrukhnagar,which was closed in December 2006 for upgrade to broad gauge. The work was completed about a month ago at a cost of Rs 30 crore,but the Commissioner of Railway Security (CRS) is yet to give a green signal to the line. This is the lifeline for farmers living in over 40 villages on the Farrukhnagar-Sultanpur belt. It used to take just one hour and barely Rs 10 to reach from Farrukhnagar to Delhi markets. However,with the line closing for upgrade,it takes us at least 4 hours to reach the mandi and there is the additional cost of transportation, said Rao Mann Singh,president,Railway Sangharsh Samiti. Northern Railway senior public relations officer Y S Rajput said: We are hopeful that by mid-September we will obtain the necessary clearances and have promised the villagers to start the stretch soon after.
