Rly board to ECR: Submit report on new route in PTR

Daltonganj: The railway board has advised the East Central Railway (ECR) unit in Hajipur to study the issues concerning the laying of third railway tracks in Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) by meeting the officials of the state forest department and the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and submit a report to it.
The move follows a letter sent to the Union ministry of railways by the Union ministry of commerce and industry earlier this month, advising it to weigh in the proposal of PTR management for realignment of the proposed third tracks, which is in limbo for long, for promotion of industry and internal trade across the country. The railway board recently sent a letter to the general manager of ECR unit in Hajipur.
Sources in the PTR hope that the fresh move may clear bottlenecks of the project, which was originally conceptualised to pass through the core area of the reserve. PTR’s deputy director (North) Kumar Ashish said, “We have been persuading the railways to shift the two existing tracks outside the core area, where they can also plan a third line accordingly.”
Amrit Lal Meena, the special secretary (logistics) of the Union ministry of commerce and industry, in his letter to the chairman of the railway board echoed similar sentiments. “Shifting of the two existing tracks and laying down of the third railway line to the alternative site that needs to be finalised will be less distressing to the wildlife and mitigate the adverse impact on the ecology and biodiversity of the PTR’s core area. Further, the alternative lines would not need to follow the speed restriction of 25kmph that is mandatory for all trains passing through the PTR.”
The impasse to this project arising out of non-issuance of forest clearance from the PTR since the past few years has led to cost overruns of this project, he noted.