Photographers to patrol Jammu railway line

The assignment seems all the more daunting keeping in view the series of militant attacks on this track in the past five years. Nearly a dozen blasts have taken place on the 250-km track, more specifically, on the 21-km stretch between Vijaypur and Kagwal within Jammu and Kashmir.

Sparsely populated and close to the Ramgarh and Samba border, militants can easily escape after triggering off an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in this 21-km stretch without being placed. The terrain, adjoining nullahs and bushes all around also works to their advantage.

In the February 10 Sapowal village blast, just 31 kilometers from the Jammu Railway Station, seven coaches were damaged, two of them completely and traffic disrupted for two days. The railway authorities had to spend Rs three lakh for realigning the 200-metre track that was destroyed in the RDX explosion while the Sealdah Express was passing by.

Luckily, nine kg of explosives planted in the bushes nearby was detected by the Railway police guard in the morning.

Difficult mission apart, the photographers were asked to patrol without guns or even a wireless set to keep in touch with the headquarters. A lathi and a torch is all they carry.

"The batteries of the torch are hardly operational. Due to power cuts, we are not able to recharge them," said one photographer, who was on patrol duty near Bari Brahmana.

Then how are they able to detect explosives in the area?

"Not only we, I think God is guarding the track as the stretch is very vulnerable," he added.

"Even if we spot any movement or explosive, it takes hours to pass the information to the nearest police station. This renders ours job ineffective as militants have ample time to escape," said another guard requesting anonymity. He added,"there is no water pump or any shed for us to rest for a while. Many a time, we have to walk several kilometres for water. Shortage of men can sometimes prove hazardous."

The photographers have alleged that authorities were unconcerned about the lack of infrastructure and this hindered their efficiency to a great extent. When contacted, an official of crime and railways department said due to the shortage of men they had to post these photographers for patrol work as the ISI is active in the area.

Admitting infrastructural shortage, he said that the track was not doubled as the Railway Ministry has not allocated the required funds. "Unless a parallel track is made, such problems are bound to continue," the official said.

He informed that they have asked for Rs 400 crore from the Ministry for doubling the track between Pathankot and Jammu. Instead, the Ministry sent a cheque of Rs 10 lakh which is not even sufficient to lay a track on a few metres. Many railway officials felt that the Railway Ministry was dilly-dallying rather than taking any concrete steps.

Explosive incidents in the past