As part of the Centre’s strategy to shift focus on economic and infrastructure development of J-K, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee is set to inaugurate a number of projects during his two-day visit to the state starting April 18.On the agenda is laying the foundation stone of a railway bridge over river Jhelum at Qazigund — part of the over two-decade-old Jammu-Baramullah line project. This is in addition to the bhoomi pujan to mark the inauguration of his dream road project — the North-South and East-West corridor. The North-South corridor plans to link Kashmir with Kanyakumari by road.‘‘The message the PM wants to convey to the people that the government is sensitive to their needs. And that the forgotten promises will be fulfilled,’’ disclosed a high-ranking government official. The priority is, thus, being accorded to the 350-km-long railway line connecting Jammu with Baramullah — so far being reduced to a mere political statement.The project was cleared way back in 1981 at an estimated cost of Rs 2,500 crore. The cost has escalated to Rs 3,600 crore now and by the time it is completed — expected by 2007 — the government would have spent Rs 5,000 crore, making it one of the most expensive projects in the country. However, there are not many in the Railways who believe that the ambitious project will ever be completed. The proposed line — to run through Udhampur, Katra, Reasi, Salal dam, Jhelum tunnel, Qazigund foothills and Srinagar before reaching Baramullah — was conceived to integrate the state with rest of the country. And it was accepted as a given fact that the line will never be economically viable for the Railways.The Railways started work on the Jammu-Udhampur stretch and when they faced roadblocks on the section, they took up the construction at the other end, that is, the Baramullah-Srinagar stretch. It’s the 110-km-long section in between which has been left for the last. ‘‘This is the toughest section. Such a thing has not been attempted in the country before. Almost 90 per cent of the stretch will either be through tunnels or on bridges,’’ explained a railway engineer.The 1,100-feet-high bridge over Jhelum, the foundation stone of which will be laid by the PM on April 19, is the beginning of the stretch and by no means will be an easy task.There is also Banihal, close to Srinagar, with the nine-km-long Jawahar Tunnel. The line will have to run through it which is not going to be easy. And the worst stretch is from Katra to Qazigund where engineers will have to cut through the Pir Panjal mountains and the dense forest area. Adding to the technical diificulties will be a 300-metre-high and one-km-long bridge over Chenab river.‘‘Permission to cut through the forest and obtaining technical knowhow are only the beginning of the problems. Snowfall will make it difficult,’’ he added.However, with the project now being jointly handled by Railways and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Prime Minister taking personal interest in it, sources said that it may just become a reality. The National Remote Sensing Agency has already compeleted a geological and digital terrain modelling of the Udhampur-Qazigund section.
