Kashmir trains sans heating arrangements, passengers suffer
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Kashmir trains sans heating arrangements, passengers suffer

Post by Irfan Yattoo on Friday, November 18, 2022

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Srinagar, Nov 17: Passengers on trains from Banihal to Baramulla in the Kashmir valley continue to shiver in the cold because railway authorities have failed to provide heating inside the coaches.
While talking to Rising Kashmir on Thursday, several passengers expressed anguish over the non-availability of heating arrangements by railway authorities despite the prevalence of cold weather conditions in the Kashmir valley.
Jameel Ahmad, a passenger who daily travels from Baramulla to Budgam in a local train, told Rising Kashmir that due to the continued dip in mercury in Kashmir, passengers in trains shiver in the cold as there are no heating arrangements available.
"It is very cold inside the train, and it seems we are travelling in open-roof trains. Some passengers during the morning hours board the trains along Kangris (firepots) at many stations, which indeed can put us at risk," Jameel said.
Jameel appealed to the authorities to provide a heating system inside the trains so that passengers can breathe a sigh of relief from the extreme cold weather conditions.
Another local passenger, Mohammad Haris Wani from Srinagar, called it unfortunate that the railways had failed to set up heating arrangements inside the couches.
 
He alleged that the railway authorities have failed to properly maintain the railway tracks, whether it is winter or summer.
 
Wani stated that the cold winds entering the train had broken the windshields in some of the couches."Elderly people and children are most vulnerable to such conditions," he said.
 
"We appeal to the authorities that this issue should be resolved so that passengers will have a sigh of relief from the cold conditions," he said.
 
On contacting the Chief Area Manager (CAM) for Kashmir, Saqib Yousuf Yatoo (IRTS) told Rising Kashmirt that tThe heating arrangement inside the trains will be started within a few days.
 
"The train has an inbuilt heating system, but to maintain it, we need to hire an agency on the tender." "They are working to make train travel comfortable, and this issue will be resolved very soon," he said.
 
Yatoo said after the heating system is started, fire pots would not be allowed inside the moving train. "It is a punishable act, and passengers should also avoid it," he said.
 
Pertinently, the 137-kilometer Banihal-Baramulla railway line comprises 17 stations. Presently, there are 19 services of trains that chug between the Baramulla-Banihal and Budgam-Banihal sections.
 
Not to mention, the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway (USBRL) railway track is being laid to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country. It comes under the jurisdiction of the Firozpur Railway division of Indian Railways' northern zone.