66.0916 hectare land approved for Rajpura Bathinda Double Railway track
M4PNews|Chandigarh
After an year of wait, finally Rajpura Bathinda Double Railway Track got its First Stage Clearance from Forest Departments of Respective areas. Forest Department had approved 66.0916 hectare land to Northern Railways for the implementation of the project.
This is to mention here that last year After laying the foundation stone of the doubling project of Rajpura-Bathinda rail track by Union railway minister Suresh Prabhakar in November 2016, it was estimated that the first phase of the project should be completed in the next five months. The 172 km long, Rajpura Bathinda doubling rail project would facilitate uninterrupted and smooth traffic operation.
It is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 1,251.25 crore. The first phase of the project on being completed would benefit the residents of Malwa region, who have been demanding for the double rail track since a long time. A number of important cities and industrial towns including Patiala and Bathinda, fertilizer and thermal po wer plants, food grains loading points, educational hubs and military cantonments are located on the project section.
The project is part of Rajpura Bathinda Sriganganagar section of Ambala Division that has been witnessing 6.42% per annum growth in the existing passenger traffic.
The Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi had got the project sanctioned from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Railway Minister.”The project will prove to be a lifeline for the people of the Malwa belt. The rail traffic will be able to run smoothly and more trains will be able to run on this track. With the completion of this project the industry in the Malwa belt will also get a boost,” said, Gandhi.
As far as 66.0916 hectare area is concerned the bifurcation of Patiala, Sangrur and Bathinda Forest land is variating. Patiala Forest Divison had approved 30.1665 ha, Sangrur Forest division approved 21.5161 ha and 14.14 ha approved in Bathinda Forest Division. It is estimated that the project will pick up its speed nowonwards.