Users rue Mamata's silence over Qadian-Beas link

PATHANKOT: Mamata Banerjee's Rail Budget, 2011 evoked a mixed response here with daily passengers lauding the no-hike in rail fares and freight charges, but resenting absence of new trains on Delhi–Pathankot-Jammu route to meet the increased requirements of rail passengers.
Except for a new weekly Vivek Express, the railway budget has completely ignored this border area, despite claims of bringing closer borders last year, sources said. The much awaited Qadian-Beas rail link, which is a long pending demand of Ahmediyya community, for which a survey was undertaken, has also remained a non-starter, they said.
Preveen Kumar, who runs a book stall at Pathankot-Chakki Bank railway station said, ``as the number of passengers travelling by trains has increased manifold over the years, frequency of trains running on Jammu-Pathankot-Delhi route should have been increased."
Rush of travelers in trains, which were often running hours late is so huge that passengers have to travel hanging on to the doors of compartments for long, at times leading to falls and fatal injuries, said Kumar. The issue of rail link between Qadian and Beas has been hanging fire for long. Qadian is the religious and cultural centre of Ahmediyya community which attracts a large number of devotees from all over the country, especially during the annual congregation. Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa had repeatedly raised this demand in the Parliament and had lobbied hard for the project with the minister, but work on it has not been taken up so far, sources added.
Said Major (rtd) Balwant Singh, "The Ex-servicemen League welcomes the budget announcement regarding recruitment of 60,000 ex-servicemen in railways. We also hope that the quality of food served in the trains would improve and cleanliness would be given top priority."