NOT
TO BE PUBLISHED/BROADCAST BEFORE 17th
NOVEMBER, 2008
Himachal Pradesh is
looking forward to a most
significant rail expansion in the
last sixty years. The ambitious
Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Mandi-
Manali-Leh Railway Project is making
headway, with the Ministry of
Railways having sanctioned Rs. 81
lacs for Reconnaisance
Engineering-cum-Traffic surveys for
construction of new Broad Gauge
railway line from Bilaspur to Leh
via Kullu-Manali. The survey of 480
km Bilaspur-Leh rail link may take
about two years. Besides this the
case of Pathankot-Jogindernagar
Railway line will be put up to
UNESCO for the grant of World
Heritage Site status to this railway
track.
It has been
due to the relentless efforts of
the State Government which
emphatically took up the rail
project with the Central Government
and impressed upon it to accept its
national importance due to its
strategic significance as well, that
the project has moved ahead.
The
Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Mandi-Manali-Leh
railway line, as an uninterrupted
communication link to the border
areas, can be of immense importance
in meeting the security and
developmental needs of the country,
besides giving impetus to tourism
activities in the State. It will
open new vistas of development and
tourism particularly in
Bilaspur-Mandi, Kullu and Lahaul &
Spiti districts. It will also be
helpful in preserving environment.
The
contribution of the State in
maintaining ecology and preserving
environment of the country is well
known and has been duly appreciated
at the national level. Himachal
Pradesh has been recently awarded
Diamond State Award for its
environment protection endeavours.
The Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Mandi-
Manali-Leh railway line will have
its environmental
significance also
since it would decongest road
traffic thereby minimizing pollution
through fuel emission. The work of
this project would be undertaken on
the basis of Clean Development
Mechanism which would ensure
environment preservation and will
earn carbon credits to the state
simultaneously.
The rail line would
provide all weather transportation
facility to the areas of
Lahaul-Spiti which remain cut off
for almost six months in a year
besides strengthening the rail
network in Leh area. It would
further strengthen the
infrastructure development in the
strategic border areas of the state
which would be a blessing to the
people of the area.
The natural beauty
of the border areas of the country
have always been a centre of
attraction for the tourists and
visitors but the area has remained
inaccessible due to limited means of
transportation. With the coming up
of Bhanupalli-Bilaspur–Leh rail line
the state would have advantage of
cheap, accessible and sustainable
means of transportation and visitors
would have opportunity to undertake
hassle free journey to this area.
The beautiful valleys and areas of
Bilaspur-Mandi, Kullu and
Lahaul-Spiti would be accessible for
the tourists to have a spectacle of
natural grandeur of the area for
whole of the year.
There is a
likelihood that this important
Railway Project may be declared a
National Project given the difficult
logistics and hugesome budget
involved in it besides its strategic
importance
