DEVELOPMENT
Hope chugs in
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The Udhampur-Baramullah railway project is transforming the social landscape of Jammu and Kashmir. LUV PURI
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Photo: Luv Puri
Vital link: An approach road being built for the Railways project.
Modern industry, resulting from the railway system, will dissolve the hereditary divisions of labour, upon which rest the Indian castes, those decisive impediments to Indian progress and Indian power.
Karl Marx in the New-York Daily Tribune, August 8, 1853
THE Railways changed the socio-economic landscape of India in the last two centuries. And we may see a rerun of that in the railway project started by the Central government in Jammu and Kashmir.
As the prestigious Udhampur-Baramulla project moves forward inch by inch , it has opened up for the first time remote areas of the State to the outside world. I spent two days in the remote forests of Arnas on the foothills of the lofty Pir Panjal to get to see on the ground how the Udhampur-Baramulla railway project is changing the landscape of the area. This is one of the most important projects started by the Central government in the last six decades in Jammu and Kashmir, as this project would link up the entire State, with the exception of the Ladakh region, with the rest of the country.
Reaching remote areas
What makes the railways so important to the hilly parts of Jammu and Kashmir? At present, the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar are already well connected with an advanced road network. The real problem is in the remote areas, many of which have no road network. The best example is the militancy prone Arnas area of Reasi district which has often remained inaccessible to the rest of the State. The Railway project is making an entry into areas which have seen little economic progress and have the highest number of people living below the poverty line in the State. The sound of rock cutters, bulldozers greet a visitor as she/ he approaches these inner pockets of Katra-Qazikund stretch, situated on a fragile hilly terrain where landslips are frequent. The Arnas block is on this stretch and is the most difficult part of the Railway project in view of the working conditions, forestry clearances and the construction of bridges/ tunnels. Unforeseen technical challenges have cropped up for the field staff due to the geographical and geological conditions. For instance, when work on a tunnel was started here, it was found that there was water in the hill. New challenges emerge and are surmounted every day, with the best technical expertise of the country involved in the task.
Changing lives
Though the project has a long way to go still, it has already proved a success and changed the lives of the people living en route. People of Kohiri village of Arnas block, who were till now cut off from rest of the country because of dense forests, are now connected through an approach road built for moving the machinery close to the site of the railway track. Earlier villagers had to walk five hours to reach the nearest motorable road. This applies to numerous small hamlets as construction of roads is in full swing. Similarly, because of a newly constructed tunnel, Salal village, where the world’s highest bridge over the Chenab is to be constructed, will become accessible to outsiders. Progress has not been merely restricted to the villages where the railway track has to pass through. Work has already started in villages located far off from the railway track as approach roads are required to rush in the material needed for the project. “That the Railway project is going to pass through my village is a matter of great satisfaction for me. We have lived here hand to mouth. I do hope my children would see a better future and have sources of employment” says Bashir Ahmed, a 74-year-old man living in Darmari village.
Connectivity is not the only benefit of the Railway project for these villagers. The project has brought ready sources of employment to their doorsteps. The Katra-Qazikund belt, particularly Arnas tehsil, is one of the poorest areas
of the State with little sources of employment. Earlier, most of the people living in this belt travelled to other parts of the country such as Punjab to work as labourers. Now most of the people are employed as labourers in the Railway project at a wage of Rs.100 per day. Land acquisition for the project has resulted in escalation of land prices, thus equipping the locals with monetary resource. Land compensation is almost complete and the villagers have got as high as Rs.50,000 per Kanal. Land acquisition has not been a problem for the revenue authorities as is the case in other parts of the country for similar projects. Sher Singh, a revenue head of Mahore area says, “Most of the land was acquired through negotiations. Villagers know the importance of Railways and most of them were satisfied that they got the best deal.” There is already a clamour for better quality government services. Most of the schools here were marked by high absenteeism of teachers. The villagers are now demanding better quality services. Chowdhary Noor Mohammad, a village head says, “In these remote hills inaccessibility was cited as a factor for poor services. Now the teachers or other government servants have little excuse not to do their jobs.”
Multi-dimensional impact
The benefits of the Railway project are also visible on the counter militancy front. In the beginning, security was cited as a prime concern because the belt had a thick presence of militants. The project is under a thick blanket of security with the para-military forces deployed near the project sites and J&K police personnel spread around the hills for area domination. Ever since the project picked up pace, security forces have recorded important successes, courtesy the fact that intelligence inputs have come from the local Gujjar population. For instance, Sharief, a Hizbul Mujahideen Commander and one of the most wanted militants, was eliminated due to the precise information provided by a Gujjar clan. A senior police officer said, “Ever since the Railway project started, our information base has considerably improved and we are giving militants a run for money.” But, militancy has not been completely wiped out as seven militants are still active in the belt, including Mashooq, a 30-year-old District Commander of Hizbul Mujahideen.
The multi-dimensional impact of the railways in the remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir has been little noticed. But it has proven that with the right economic policies, the lop-sided economic growth of Jammu and Kashmir can be corrected. The Railways has touched the marginalised areas and sections of society in militancy infested areas of J&K. But it is just the beginning and is set to have a long term impact.
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