200KM ROAD BUILT FOR 100KM RLY LINE

Alternate sources of water made available to people of over 20 villages dependent on Himalayan fountains

- RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR

FOR the first time, the Indian Railways had to construct over 200 kilometres of roads to lay a 100 odd kilometres of new rail lines under the Udhampur - Srinagar - Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, connecting Katra to Srinagar through some of the most challenging Himalayan terrain, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

Initially built to transport materials, manpower, and machinery to the rail construction sites, the road has now become a valuable infrastructure, providing improved connectivity for residents in the terrain along the route between Jammu and Srinagar, he added.

In the process, the railways also made viable alternate sources of water available to more than 20 villages who had been dependent on the water from Himalayan mountain fountains. The water sources originating from the hilltops and flowing down to residential areas had been disrupted due to tunnel construction.

"But the railway made viable alternate ways over the top of the tunnels to ensure water supply to 20 villages, whose water sources from hilltops were disturbed due to the tunnel works," he said.