Chandigarh, June 25
Qadian, the headquarters of the Ahmadiya sect in Gurdaspur district, will finally be accessible by rail with the Expanded Board of Railways (EBR) approving a rail line to the town from Beas in Amritsar district.

Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa, who has been spearheading the movement to ensure rail connectivity to Qadian, said the EBR had given in-principle approval and had approved an expenditure of Rs 240 crore for the new rail link.

The proposed project alignment that was finalised will pass through the villages of Dhapai, Ghuman, Butala and Sathiala covering a stretch of 39 km. At present, the Qadian-Beas railway stations are connected by a circuitous route via Amritsar and Batala. The project section will connect two important routes of Amritsar-Pathankot and Jalandhar-Amritsar via Qadian.

While Qadian is the international headquarters of Jamait-e-Ahmadiyya Muslim sect, Beas is the headquarters of the Radhasoami sect.

In a statement here, Bajwa said the track, which was the brainchild of pre-Partition Qadian leader Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, would finally see the light of day.

The MP claimed he had fulfilled the commitment made to his hometown of Qadian as well as his constituency by convincing the Railways of the necessity of the track.

He said the rail link would not only meet the increased requirements of the passengers and the strategic needs of the armed forces, but also help decongest road traffic.