CRPF personnel armed with “sophisticated” automatic weapons and bullet-proof jackets will guard tunnel stretches covering around 100 km of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Line (USBRL), with CCTV cameras in place, The Indian Express has learnt. This decision, which is based on suggestions put forward at a high-level security meeting on March 9, assumes significance in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack last week in which 26 people were killed. A key link of the USBRL was to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 19 but the event was postponed due to inclement weather. Sources told The Indian Express that these suggestions were made during the first meeting on security arrangements for the rail line, chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and attended by the heads of paramilitary forces and Railway Protection Force, J&K DGP, and Railway Board chairman Satish Kumar. “There were two agenda-based sessions of the meeting - to discuss security in the valley and why agencies have failed to generate fresh inputs, and security arrangements of USBRL. All the DGs were asked to share their suggestions and security plans,” the source said. The 111-km Katra-Banihal section of USBRL is the most challenging portion, covering India’s longest transportation tunnel (12.77 km), world’s highest railway arch bridge (Chenab, 359m) and the Indian Railway’s first cable-stayed bridge. In this section, 97 km are covered by tunnels. “One of the DGs from the paramilitary forces advised us to install CCTV cameras, which will cover all tunnel areas. As per rules, the security of all rail lines is at the disposal of state police, so it has been decided to deploy CRPF personnel in tunnels while the other areas will be secured by the GRP and RPF,” the source said. Sources said “sophisticated” automatic weapons and bullet-proof jackets will be provided to the security personnel. “We have deployed around 4,500 personnel and installed CCTV cameras along with a monitoring room round the clock,” sources said. A day after the Pahalgam terror attack, senior officers of RPF visited J&K and reviewed the security arrangements. Currently, trains are operational on the 184-km stretch between Sangaldan and Baramulla, as well as the 25-km Udhampur-Katra section of USBRL. However, the Kashmir Valley remains unconnected with the remaining 63-km Katra-Sangaldan section awaiting inauguration. (WITH INPUTS FROM ENS Economic Bureau)
