7 months on, no headway in Karnal-Yamunanagar railway project

Parveen Arora

Karnal, February 20

Almost seven months after approval from the Railways Ministry and also the sanctioning of the budget, around 64-km long Karnal-Yamunanagar railway line project is hanging fire.

Sources said the process for the identification of the land and acquisition had not started yet. To provide the shortest link between these two cities and to reduce the travel time for the passengers and freight traffic, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had kept a provision of laying railway lines between Karnal and Yamunanagar in his budget speech on February 28, 2020, for which residents have been waiting since 1998.

Only on paper, nothing on ground

The project was first announced on May 29, 1998, when the then government had announced to lay a railway line of 128 km between Yamunanagar and Kaithal districts via Karnal city, but it could not be implemented. Later, it was announced in February 24, 2010, and February 25, 2011, rly budgets, but never materialised. Only surveys were conducted, but it could not come up on the ground. —Anshul Narang, Social activist

The proposed railway line will have stations near Bhenikhurd village, Ramba, Indri, Ladwa, Radaur, Damla and Jagadhri workshop for access to market for agricultural produce, plywood, timber, industrial products, metal industry, fertiliser and others. After the approval from the Railways Ministry last year, the state government had sanctioned a sum of Rs 883.78 crore in July 2021. The project was to be implemented in about four years.

The delay in the process has caused resentment among residents.

Anshul Narang, a resident of Sadar Bazar and social activist, said to strengthen the infrastructure and also to provide fast, safe, economical, comfortable and reliable mobility option to people of the state, the CM had announced this project, the detailed project report of which had already been approved by the Railways Ministry. However, after around seven months of approval and sanctioning of the budget, nothing had been done on ground.

Rajiv Kumar, another social activist, said the project was a long-pending demand of residents and one of the ambitious ones of the CM. The Union government should take it on a priority basis. “This project will ease the traffic between both major cities of the state. The state government should also raise the issue of the non-commencement of the project with the Union government,” he demanded.

Despite several attempts, the Railways authorities could not be contacted for their comments.