Tags:
Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, APRIL 6: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will gift a brand new railway line to his hometown Bateshwar on Tuesday. He will lay the foundation stone of the new line at a public meeting in Bateshwar, situated between Agra and Gwalior.
The new 110-km Agra-Etawah railway line, being laid at a fresh alignment to make it pass through the PM’s hometown, will run almost parallel to an already existing line. The broad gauge will also pass through the Yamuna and Chambal rivers. It will cost the cash-strapped Railways an estimated Rs 150 crore.
The sanction for the line was given in the Railways budget despite Agra being already well-connected to Etawah. An electric railway line, for Agra and Etawah via Tundla, already exists.
“It is not even that the existing line is over-utilised or carries excess traffic. There was absolutely no need for this new line from the point of view of passenger demand,” a Railways official said.
Apart from the existing railway line, another one on the route is alreadybeing built. The then Minister for Railways Madhavrao Scindia – to connect his constituency Gwalior – had sanctioned a Guna-Gwalior-Bhind-Etawah line, construction of which is already in progress. The Guna-Gwalior section was built and work on the Gwalior-Etawah line started.
A Railways Ministry official said the new line would join the corridor being built at Udi railway station, one station short of Etawah. He also gave Rail Bhavan’s favourite reason while defending the decision for the new line: “The new line is socially desirable.” Passing through Fatehabad and Bah – apart from the PM’s hometown – the new Agra-Etawah line will cater to 912 villages and a population of 21 lakh, the official said. “Moreover, the PM is entitled to get a railway line laid in his hometown. The ministers do it all the time. This is the least the PM can do,” he said.
The Railways spokesman said the new line will also facilitate devotees who visit Lord Shiva’s temple at Bateshwar during the annual fair. The public meetingat Bateshwar will be attended by Railways Minister Nitish Kumar, UP Governor Suraj Bhan and Chief Minister Kalyan Singh.
