There is some good news for Gadchiroli district as the impoundment of forest clearance for Gadchiroli-Wadsa railway line is finally cleared. The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) last month gave nod for the completion of 54 km rail link, stated Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Deepak Gupta while interacting with newspersons on Monday at Divisional Headquarters here. Due to long delay in forest clearance, the project cost shot up from Rs 450 crore initially to Rs 1,886 crore. Railways had sought some concessions from the earlier order of transplantation of trees as their number was in large number.

 

The issue was lingering for long even as Railways had completed half the route while the remaining 25 km was stuck awaiting clearance from NBWL. DRM said that of the 25 km balance construction, 23 km passes through jungle area and Railways have agreed to other mitigation measures. The rail link was projected as means to initiate development in the backward region of the State. For long, the dominance of Naxalites resulted in stalling of the work. Now with left wing militia almost on verge of being wiped out, the State Government in partnership with Railways is keen to complete the railway work as fast as possible.

 

As to other ongoing work, those related to upgradation of passenger amenities at 15 station under Amrit Bharat Scheme is nearing completion. Work at three stations, namely Itwari, Chanda Fort and Amgaon are completed and three other -- Dongargarh, Seoni and Wadsa -- would also see full development by end of May. For remaining nine stations, the upgradation works are in final stages and timeline for the same is year end, the DRM said further. He said total works of Rs 222 crore were allocated for Amrit Bharat stations, wherein new and wider FoBs, upgradation of waiting rooms, rolling out amenities for Divyangjan, enhancing ambiance at stations to make travellers at ease is the focus.

 

To a question about status of Bhimalgondi railway bridge, Gupta said that the repair work would be completed by May end. The bridge suffered cracks and investigation revealed that same was due to harsh topography of the area, a ghat section. Due to damage on bridge, the long distance passenger trains were running via Itarsi route. He also informed that work on 3rd line from Itwari to Rajnandgaon is nearly complete, barring some small sections, Gondia-Gudmarg and Salekasa-Darekasa. Along side boundary wall on 262 km section is also taken-up for construction as extra safety and same would help in increasing the speed of trains.