RailEnquiry

Pithoragarh : As the Tanakpur to Bageswar railway project has been categorised as a national project by the Central government, residents of Jauljibi town, situated on the Nepal border, in this district are demanding the construction of a railway line from Tanakpur to their town as well.A delegation of residents of this border town met the District Magistrate here today and handed over to him a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister demanding that a Tanakpur to Jauljibi railway line be announced and it also be declared a national project. “We have been demanding a railway line for the past six years as it will benefit more than 1 lakh people living in 46 villages of the district on the Nepal border, besides armed forces on the China and Nepal borders,” said Bangyal, a social worker form Jauljibi town and leader of the delegation.The residents of the town are also demanding mobile phone services in the town. Bangyal said due to the lack of mobile phone services in the town they were compelled to cross the border to avail of the facility in Nepal. “All 25 villages around Jauljibi town are now dependant on the mobile phone services available in a neighboring town of Nepal,” he said. They also demanded in the memorandum a community health centre in their area, as they could not avail of the medical facility available 100 km from the town in Pithoragarh district.“We have been demanding the opening of an LPG godown and a community health centre, besides a railway line and a BSNL tower in our area for the last six years. We have met the District Magistrate and other officials several times but neither the administration nor the government have acted on our demands. If we don’t get justice this time, the people of the town will intensify their agitation,” said Dolma Lal, another woman member of the delegation.